Victoria Tower is a slender neo-Gothic monument erected in 1848 to commemorate Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's visit to Guernsey two years earlier. It rises above the town on a slight hill, visible from the harbour and from the lanes below. It is less a conventional tower — you cannot go inside — than a public monument in the grand Victorian style, built in local granite and positioned to be seen.
The tower stands at the edge of Candie Gardens, making it a natural combination with a visit to the gardens and the museum below. The view from the street nearby takes in both the tower and, behind it, the town descending to the harbour. It is a classic bit of Victorian civic pride, and none the worse for that.
On the base, the inscription records the royal visit that prompted the commission. Queen Victoria apparently found Guernsey charming — she described the town as "very foreign looking" and was pleased by the reception the islanders gave her.