Dating back to 1766 the Clifton Observatory began life as a windmill for corn
and later converted to the grinding of snuff (tobacco), when it came known as ‘The Snuff Mill’

In 1828 William West an artist based in Bristol rented the Observatory as his studio.
West transformed the old mill by installing a large telescope into the tower and creating the Observatory

In 1892 West replaced the telescope with a camera obscura, a 13cm convex lens and sloping mirror
were installed on top of the tower which projected panoramic views of the iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge and surrounding area
This still exists today as well as the Giants cave below the tower