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The Official Crest of Everton Football Club, arguably one of the best in the English league, features a tower erect (in heraldic
parlance!), bordered by two wreaths resplendent (Eh?). So just what is that tower?
Prince Rupert's Tower, or The Roundhouse,
that is identified so strongly with Everton is an old Bridewell or lock-up that is still located on Everton Brow, in Netherfield
Road, Everton.
It was built in 1787, and was used to incarcerate wrong-doers until they could be hauled before
the magistrate the following morning.
An early print of Everton Brow by Liverpool artist Herdman in 1800 shows the
small round house with a conical roof in the middle of the penfold (cattle enclosure) which had been constructed to incarcerate
drunks and deviants for the night.
Also going by the nicknames "Stewbum's Palace" or the "Stone Jug"
in its day, there is a display about the lock-up in the Liverpool Museum.
Used primarily these days by council workmen
to store their tools, the tower itself has fallen into disrepair recently but in May 1997, then-chairman Peter Johnson announced
a plan to spend 15,000 on renovating what is one of Everton FC's most enduring symbols. The club's new Megastore also incorporated
the tower design into its commanding facade.
Prince Rupert's Tower is now also featured on a nice engraving available
from the Megastore, standing before the Old Toffee Shoppe.
Note that the depiction of Rupert's Tower has changed
a bit on the latest version of the Club crest (not this one). The tower has sprung a foundation which is now miraculously
visible below the girding fenceline.
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