Tower Works, The Giotto Tower Dust Extraction Chimney

The Giotto Tower dust extraction chimney, also known as The Big Tower, is a dust extraction chimney located on Globe Road in Holbeck, Leeds. It was built in 1899 and restored in 1989. Designed by William Bakewell for Colonel T.W. Harding, the chimney features polychrome and moulded brick, along with Burmantofts tiles. It has a square section with octagonal corner shafts and is divided into four stages by moulded brick strings. The top stage includes a blind 'belfry' with three panels of gilded tiled panels by Burmantofts set in arched recesses on each side, a corbel table, and a deep panelled cornice topped with a cast-iron framework and pinnacle. The chimney was designed to contain filters that trapped metal dust produced during the pin-making process, likely for reuse. T.W. Harding commissioned Bakewell to design extensions to the factory in 1899 while he served as Lord Mayor of Leeds. The design is inspired by the campanile of the cathedral in Florence, which was begun by Giotto in 1334 and illustrated by John Ruskin in his book "Seven Lamps of Architecture," first published in 1849.