William Tyndale Monument — Attraction in Stroud

TYNDALE TOWER MONUMENT, NIBLEY, GLOUCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND

THE TYNDALE MONUMENT IS A TOWER BUILT ON A HILL AT NORTH NIBLEY, GLOUCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND. IT WAS BUILT IN HONOUR OF WILLIAM TYNDALE, A TRANSLATOR OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, WHO IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN BORN AT NORTH NIBLEY. THE TOWER WAS CONSTRUCTED IN 1866, 26FT 6IN SQUARE AT THE BASE AND IS 111 FT (34 M) TALL. IT IS POSSIBLE TO ENTER AND CLIMB TO THE TOP OF THE TOWER, UP A SPIRAL STAIRCASE OF ABOUT 120 STEPS. THE HILL IT IS ON ALLOWS A WIDE RANGE OF VIEWS, ESPECIALLY LOOKING DOWN TO THE RIVER SEVERN. THE HILL ON WHICH THE MONUMENT STANDS IS QUITE STEEP. THERE ARE TWO MAIN PATHS, ONE WHICH GOES UP STEEP STEPS, OR ONE THAT FOLLOWS A ROUGH SLOPE. THE TOWER ITSELF IS SURROUNDED BY FENCING AND HAS FLOODLIGHTS THAT LIGHT UP THE TOWER ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS.THE DOOR TO THE TOWER IS NORMALLY UNLOCKED. FORBIDDEN TO WORK IN ENGLAND, TYNDALE TRANSLATED AND PRINTED IN ENGLISH THE NEW TESTAMENT AND HALF THE OLD TESTAMENT BETWEEN 1525 AND 1535 IN GERMANY AND THE LOW COUNTRIES. HE WORKED FROM THE GREEK AND HEBREW ORIGINAL TEXTS WHEN KNOWLEDGE OF THOSE LANGUAGES IN ENGLAND WAS RARE. HIS POCKET-SIZED BIBLE TRANSLATIONS WERE SMUGGLED INTO ENGLAND, AND THEN RUTHLESSLY SOUGHT OUT BY THE CHURCH, CONFISCATED AND DESTROYED. CONDEMNED AS A HERETIC, TYNDALE WAS STRANGLED AND BURNED OUTSIDE BRUSSELS IN 1536.THE TYNDALE SOCIETY. TYNDALE'S ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT WAS TAKEN ALMOST WORD FOR WORD INTO THE MUCH PRAISED AUTHORISED VERSION (KING JAMES BIBLE) OF 1611, WHICH ALSO REPRODUCES A GREAT DEAL OF HIS OLD TESTAMENT. FROM THERE HIS WORDS PASSED INTO OUR COMMON UNDERSTANDING. PEOPLE ACROSS THE WORLD HONOUR HIM AS A GREAT ENGLISHMAN, UNJUSTLY CONDEMNED AND STILL UNFAIRLY NEGLECTED. HIS SOLITARY COURAGE AND HIS SKILL WITH LANGUAGES - INCLUDING, SUPREMELY, HIS OWN - ENRICHED ENGLISH HISTORY IN WAYS STILL NOT PROPERLY EXAMINED, AND THEN REACHED OUT TO AFFECT ALL...

What a great spot! Well worth making the effort to get to the top of both this hill and tower. Brilliant views in every direction.

We parked on the outskirts of North Nibley, alongside a cemetery. This is near to the waymarked path leading straight up through beautiful woods. The climb is steep, but well worth it. The paths were a bit confusing near the top, but we eventually popped out onto the grassy plateau.

The tower itself has a quite tight, steep, spiral staircase leading to the top. There are several passing spaces if you need them and there’s plenty of light. The ascent (and descent) is not for the fainthearted but take it steady and it’ll be worth it. The views are fabulous – right the way across to the two River Severn bridges (15-20 miles away) and into Wales. Pop a donation into the collection box on your way out to ensure this monument is maintained for others to enjoy and pause for a moment to read more about William Tyndale (translator of the New Testament into English).

Once back on terra firma there are several places to plonk yourself down and soak it all in. Why not take a small picnic and enjoy the moment. In fact, it looked as if there were further walks extending to the southeast – so there are plenty of options for the...

We visited the monument in April 2024. It was built in the 19h century, to commemorate Tyndale, who was burned at the stake in Belgium in the 16th century for translating the Bible into English. The walk up to the monument is substantial and you need proper walking/hiking footwear. There are some good benches near the monument where you can sit and enjoy the panoramic view. When we visited, there was no lighting on parts of the staircase when we ascended. Quite scary on the narrow, steep stone spiral, with no handrail, because in parts, it was so pitch dark you could see nothing at all. Our theory is that there are infrared detectors that are supposed to switch lighting on, that are not working. The view from the tight area at the top was good, and we lit our way back down with our phone...