Climb the 154 steps of our spiral staircase to admire the view from the top of the tower. Find out why it's pink and why it's called cantilevered, then make your own decorative spiral to display at home. This is a free activity included with normal admission., so do drop in on any of these…

Beckford's Gothic novel, Vathek, an Arabian tale, was originally written in French when the author was 21. It is the story of Caliph Vathek, whose eye can kill at a glance, who makes a pact with the Devil, Eblis. But why is it classified as Gothic literature? The literary genre called Gothic draws its name…

The Beckford Birthday Lecture. Charlie Courtenay, Earl of Devon, will discuss the intimate relationship between William Beckford and William, 3rd Viscount Courtenay. William Courtenay was discredited in Charlie's youth as a flamboyant spendthrift, who fled England in disgrace pursued by creditors – never to return.  Recent research has revealed a much more complex man, of…

Join Courtney Fleming, the Tower's Manager, on a tour of Lansdown Cemetery, once William Beckford’s beautiful garden surrounding the Tower and where Beckford himself is buried. William Beckford had been buried in Bath Abbey Cemetery in 1844 but, at the instigation of one of his daughters, Lady Hamilton, the tomb was transported to the newly-created…