I doubt if this is really a case of a Benthamite panopticon. Its a lantern
- a common enough architectural feature. That sort of thing has certainly
been used as a symbolic beacon of (educational) light, as in the case of
our local Low Hill Library, Wolverhampton. You can see it at:
http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/listed/lowhill%20lib/lowhillib.htm
We also have an example of a tower in the centre of Elston Hall school
which I think was purely architectural - I have never heard of anyone using
it as a guard post:
http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/listed/localist/elstonhall.htm
And I could also bore you with examples of Victorian schools with towers.
Frank Sharman
Wolverhampton
01902 763246
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