Everton Beacon, the small round tower, was built as a Bridewell or lock-up in 1787, however, the original beacon built to guide ships using the Mersey estuary stood over half a mile north of the round tower. It was built by Ranuf, Earl of Chester, in around 1230. The building was a plain square two storey building and housed a kitchen on its ground floor and a guardroom upstairs, it is said to have blown down during a storm in 1802.


The title of the beacon passed to the lock-up which has several other names, these include, The Round House, Stewbum's Palace, the Stone Jug and of course Prince Ruperts Tower or Castle. The reference to Prince Rupert is due to a report that he used the old beacon as a vantage point overlooking the town, during the civil war.





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