The Curfew Tower in the historic Cotswolds town of Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, England, UK, probably dates from the 16th Century and is one of very few such structures to survive. It has a former lock-up or prison cell at its base, a clock of 1648 and a curfew bell of 1633 which was rung every evening until 1860 to warn residents to “cover fire” at night – essential in a place in which most of the honey-coloured stone houses would have been roofed with highly flammable thatch. The tower stands at the junction of Oxford Street and High Street.


Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, England, UK: the Curfew Tower at the junction of Oxford Street and High Street in this historic Cotswolds town probably dates from the 16th Century and is one of very few such structures to survive in the United Kingdom. The tower, overlooking the Market Place, has a former lock-up or prison cell at its base, a clock of 1648 and a curfew bell of 1633 which was rung every evening until 1860 to warn the townspeople to “cover fire” at night – essential in a community in which most of the honey-coloured stone houses would have been roofed with highly flammable thatch.


Size: 2443px × 3650px
Location: Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, England, UK
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

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