The first shot tower in the world was built on Redcliffe Hill by plumber William Watts. In 1782 he invented a way to make perfectly round lead shot by pouring molten lead through a sieve and allowing it to drop from a height into water. When his tower was demolished for road widening in 1968, it was replaced by this 140-foot tall reinforced concrete landmark. It no longer makes shot, but as a listed building will be preserved as part of Bristol’s skyline.
