Chinese Bell Tower, Nottingham Travel Guide

4.5 (33)

Grade II listed Victorian pagoda displaying Crimean cannons inside Nottingham’s first public park.

The Chinese Bell Tower stands as a Grade II listed Victorian war memorial inside Nottingham Arboretum. Its octagonal pagoda-style cupola rises above a sandstone platform ringed by four cannons captured during the Crimean War. Built in 1862 to commemorate the 59th Regiment of Foot, the structure combines British military trophies with chinoiserie architecture. Visitors reach it via paths through the park’s Bell Garden, where mature trees and flower beds frame the spire and weathered inscriptions. The monument offers a short, distinctive stop that reveals an unexpected chapter of imperial history within an urban public park.

A brief summary to Chinese Bell Tower

14 Mansfield Grove, Nottingham, NG1 4GQ, GB
Click to display
Duration: 10 to 30 hours
Free
Outdoor
Mobile reception: 4 out of 5

From Eve

Know before you go

Hi, I'm Eve. Here are a few practical things to know before exploring Chinese Bell Tower.

Combine the tower with the adjacent rose garden and heritage trail for a coherent 45–60 minute circuit.
Check current park opening hours before visiting; gates close at dusk and winter closing can be 16:30.
The replica bell was stolen in 2025; expect the structure and cannons only.

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Explore Chinese Bell Tower on the Map

A handpicked selection of must-see spots near Chinese Bell Tower, mapped for you.

Getting There

Walk

Enter Nottingham Arboretum from Waverley Street or Addison Street and follow the southern perimeter path uphill to the Bell Garden.
Public Transport

Take the NET tram to the Arboretum stop on Waverley Street; the southern entrance is approximately 150 m away.
Taxi

Ask to be dropped at the Addison Street or Waverley Street entrances; on-street parking in surrounding residential streets is limited.

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Discover more about Chinese Bell Tower

Victorian chinoiserie in an English park

The Chinese Bell Tower is an octagonal cupola with a swept spire, supported on columns and set on a raised pink-sandstone platform. Four cannons rest at the corners. Designed by borough engineer Marriott Ogle Tarbotton and completed in 1862, the structure was conceived as a memorial to the 59th (2nd Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot and its service in the Crimean War and the Second Opium War.Two of the cannons were taken at Sevastopol; the others are later replacements. A temple bell looted near Canton was originally hung inside the cupola. The bell was removed in the 1950s and is now held by a regimental museum in Preston. A replica hung here until it was stolen in February 2025. The listed structure and cannons remain.

Setting within the Bell Garden

The tower occupies a raised area on the south side of Nottingham Arboretum, east of the rose garden and above the main east–west path. A clipped conifer hedge encloses the platform, while lawns and small conifers surround it. Inscriptions in English, Chinese and Russian appear on the base and frieze, though some have weathered. The garden is quieter than the lake and café end of the park, offering a calm vantage point among trees.

History of the memorial

Nottingham Arboretum opened in 1852 as the city’s first public park. The tower was added a decade later to display the captured cannons and the Canton bell. Contemporary letters already questioned the bell’s presence. The pagoda was partly rebuilt after the original bell’s removal. It received Grade II listing in 1972; the surrounding park is Grade II* registered.

Visiting the monument

Walkers reach the Bell Garden from any of the park’s four pedestrian entrances. The approach from the southern path involves a moderate climb. The monument is viewed from the surrounding lawn and platform edge; there is no interior space open to visitors. Typical time spent here is 10–20 minutes as part of a longer park circuit that may include the bandstand, aviaries and lake.The site is free. No booking or ticket is required. The park is gated and closes at dusk; winter closing times can be as early as 16:30. Public transport by tram along Waverley Street places visitors within a short walk of the southern entrance.