Day 58, still not the Eiffel Tower

Here is a concrete tower.  Of all the concrete towers in the world, this one in Manchester is surely the tallest one.  If there is a taller one then it has not been brought to my attention.  This tower visible from what was my bedroom in Cheetham Hill circa 1980 is the tower at Strangeways Prison.

What I didn’t know at the time was that the prison was designed somewhat in the style of the Panopticon.  The central watchtower being akin to the ‘inspection house’ in the proposed idea by Jeremy Bentham.  Bentham’s idea being that the prisoners could all be seen by the watchman but not be aware of whether or not they were being watched.  This was designed with the intention that it would “grind … rogues honest.”  He believed the Panopticon to be rational and enlightened.

Bentham stated in his will that he wished his body to be preserved after his death.  Parts of it are preserved and visible at University College London.  His remains are occasionally wheeled out for public inspection.

Interesting to think that in death Bentham now can be viewed by many, while he himself is completely unaware that he is being viewed.