Clock Tower, Brighton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Clock Tower |
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The Clock Tower, lit up for the festive season.
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| Location | North Street, Brighton, Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, United Kingdom |
| Founded | 1887 |
| Built | 1888 |
| Built for | James Willing |
| Architect | John Johnson |
| Architectural style(s) | Classical |
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Listed Building – Grade II
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| Official name: Clock Tower and Attached Railings | |
| Designated | 26 August 1999 |
| Reference no. | 1380624 |
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The Clock Tower (also known as the Jubilee Clock Tower) stands tall in the middle of Brighton, a city in England. It was built in 1888 to celebrate Queen Victoria's 50 years as queen, called her Golden Jubilee. This special building has unique features and quickly became a famous landmark in the popular seaside town.
People in Brighton "really like" the Clock Tower. However, some people disagree about whether it is beautiful or not. English Heritage has listed the Clock Tower as a Grade II building. This means it is important for its history and how it looks.
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History of the Brighton Clock Tower
How Brighton Grew
Brighton was once a small fishing village called Brighthelmston. It became a popular seaside resort because a local doctor, Richard Russell, said that drinking and bathing in seawater was good for health. This idea became very popular in the late 1700s.
Important people, like the Prince Regent (who later became King George IV), started visiting. He moved into a farmhouse that later became the amazing Royal Pavilion. More people came to Brighton for holidays or to live there. New roads and transport made it even easier to visit.
Brighton's Busy Streets
By the 1780s, North Street was a key shopping area. It grew to be the main business heart of Brighton over the next 100 years. This street started as a path in the 1300s. It was the northern edge of the old village.
West Street was the old western edge of the village. It ran south towards the beach. Queen's Road was built in 1845. It connected the new railway station directly to the city centre.
The western part of North Street was renamed Western Road in the 1830s. This part became Brighton's main shopping street by the 1860s.
Building the Clock Tower
In the late 1800s, the roads were made wider. By 1880, the crossing of North Street, Western Road, West Street, and Queen's Road was a very important spot. There was an old waiting shelter in the middle. This place was perfect for a new building.
In 1881, a competition was held to design a new building. Architects Henry Branch and Thomas Simpson won, but their plans were never built. The spot stayed empty until 1888.
Queen Victoria celebrated her Golden Jubilee in 1887. Many towns built special clock towers to remember this event. A local advertising person named James Willing decided to pay for one in Brighton. He gave £2,000 for it.
The town held another design competition. John Johnson, an architect from London, won. The tower was finished in early 1888. It was officially opened on January 20, 1888, which was James Willing's 70th birthday.
The Time Ball Feature
Soon after the tower opened, a local inventor named Magnus Volk designed a special "time ball" for it. Magnus Volk also created Britain's oldest electric railway.
The time ball was a copper ball that moved up and down a 16-foot (4.9 m) metal pole every hour. It worked using water power and signals from the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. However, people complained about the noise it made. So, this feature was stopped after a few years.
The Tower's Importance Today
The Clock Tower is seen as one of Brighton's most important landmarks. It is sometimes called "the hub of modern Brighton." People in the city feel a "nostalgic affection" for it. This means they have fond memories of it.
Even though some people have wanted to remove it, it has stayed because it would be very expensive to take down. Some experts have called it "worthless" or like "a giant salt-cellar." But others have said it is "charmingly ugly" or "extremely charming and delightful." One recent study called it "supremely confident and showy."
The Clock Tower was listed as a Grade II building by English Heritage on August 26, 1999. This status is given to important buildings that have special interest. In February 2001, it was one of many listed buildings in Brighton and Hove.
Architecture of the Clock Tower
The Clock Tower is built in a Classical style with some Baroque details. It stands 75 feet (23 m) tall. The pole for Volk's time ball adds another 16 feet (4.9 m). Each of the four clock faces is 5 feet (1.5 m) across. The names James Willing and the year 1887 are written on the clock faces.
The bottom part of the tower is made of pink granite. The tall, thin Corinthian columns on each side are also granite. The rest of the tower is made of Portland stone.
On each side, the columns go partway up and have a triangular top part called a pediment. Below these are fancy carvings and a shape that looks like the side of a ship. Words carved on each ship show which way they are pointing:
- to the station (north)
- to kemp town (east)
- to the sea (south)
- to hove (west)
Below these, each side has a curved space with a round mosaic picture of a member of the Royal Family. At the corners of the base, there are carved stone statues of female figures.
Above the pediments, the stone walls have a rough texture called rusticated. They are decorated with flat columns called pilasters and narrow, rounded spaces. There is also a decorative band called a frieze with enclosed balusters. Some experts have seen Gothic parts in this section's design.
Above the frieze, there is a fancy cornice (a decorative molding) with small towers called turrets at each corner. On top of this is a dome with a copper roof that looks like fish scales. The time ball and a weather-vane with James Willing's initials are on top of the dome. There used to be public toilets under the tower.
Images for kids
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Portrait of Albert, Prince Consort
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Portrait of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VII
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Portrait of the Princess of Wales, who later became Queen Alexandra
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Portrait of Queen Victoria
