One seaside town in Scotland is home to the rather unique McCaig’s Tower, a folly that looks rather like the Roman Colosseum.
Oban, in Argyll and Bute, is located in the West of Scotland and is often referred to as the ‘Gateway to the Hebrides’ due to its location, giving easy access to the Outer and Inner Hebrides islands by ferry.
But it’s not just its seaside location and ferry trips that mark Oban as different from other towns and villages up and down the UK; that would be the Colosseum-like structure that overlooks it.
McCaig’s Tower sits at the peak of Battery Hill, and has done since 1897 when the building was designed and commissioned by wealthy banker John Stuart McCaig.
McCaig had high hopes for the structure and planned to open a museum and art gallery within the planned building, with a central tower in which statues of himself and his family members would be located.
A huge admirer of Roman and Greek architecture, McCaig’s decision for the building to resemble the Colosseum was no coincidence – although had his dreams had fully come to fruition, the tower may have ended up resembling the ancient site a lot less.
Granite for the tower’s construction was sourced from quarries in the nearby Airds Bay, and it was hoped that construction would provide jobs for local stonemasons.
Sadly, McCaig passed away from cardiac arrest on 29 June 1902, at which point only the tower stood, much as it does today, as an empty shell.
Upon McCaig’s death, construction on the tower stopped, and although he had left £1,000 a year for the upkeep of the tower, this was disputed by relatives in court, with their appeal being upheld.
McCaig’s Tower may have remained unfinished but it’s still proved a historic oddity and has been a Grade B Listed historic monument since 1971
It’s only the tower’s empty shell that stands today, although it certainly still makes for an interesting visit or photo-op. And in 2003, two teachers from the local high school tied the knot within the tower.
