The Clock Tower, Herne Bay (built 1837), is a Grade II listed landmark in Herne Bay, Kent, England. It is believed to be one of the earliest purpose-built, free-standing clock towers in the United Kingdom. It was funded by Mrs Ann Thwaytes, and now serves as a memorial to the fallen of the Second Boer War.
The clock tower was designed by Edwin James Dangerfield, and was possibly inspired by a Royal Exchange Assurance lead firemark badge which bore a picture of the Royal Exchange tower. It was built with deep foundations of arches and vaults, and its core is of brick, with Portland stone cladding. Its height has been estimated to be tall, or including the weather vane. Its original turret clock mechanism has been replaced by a synchronous electric hour striking unit, but it still retains its 12 cwt bell.
The benefactor
At the time of the erection of the Clock Tower, Ann Thwaytes (1789–1866) was the rich widow of London grocer William Thwaytes.Mike Bundock, Victorian Herne Bay (Herne Bay, Kent, Pierhead Publications Ltd, 1 February 2011), p.18, . Between 1834 and 1840 she visited Herne Bay regularly with friends, staying with Mr Camplin who owned number 8 (now 30) Marine Terrace on Central Parade, and became an established town benefactor of Herne Bay.Herne Bay Cultural Trail: Clock Tower, Central Parade Retrieved 23 November 2013 While there in 1836 she donated £4,000 for the erection of the Clock Tower, which may have cost £5,000 to build.Kentpol: Herne Bay Retrieved 23 November 2013 A blue plaque has been erected in her memory by City of Canterbury Council, at Central Parade near the Clock Tower.Open Plaques: Ann Thwaytes (1789–1866) Retrieved 24 November 2013
Inspiration and planning The Clock Tower was conceived within five years of the completion of Herne Bay's first pier of 1832, when the town was in the throes of its initial popularity and development. Herne Bay historian Mike Bundock suggests a possible inspiration for the unusual design of this tower. On the back of 31 Marine Terrace, next door to Mrs Thwaytes' holiday residence, was a Royal Exchange Assurance lead firemark badge which bore a picture of the Royal Exchange tower, designed by Edward Jarman in 1721.Number 31 was built in 1826, and the lead firemark, affixed to indicate insured properties, was in use from 1810 to 1835. Mrs Thwaytes was already familiar with the Royal Exchange tower, as she had lived close to it during her marriage.Image of Royal Exchange Assurance badge Retrieved 25 November 2013. Showing the Royal Exchange tower which may have inspired Herne Bay Clock TowerGuardian Financial Services: About us Retrieved 24 November 2013. Note: it has been mistakenly repeated that the badge on Mrs Thwaite's house belonged to the Guardian Royal Exchange, but that company did not exist until 1968, as the result of a merger between Guardian Assurance Company (est.1821) and Royal Exchange Assurance Corporation (est.1720). In 1836, possibly inspired by the success of the nearby pier and the grandeur of this image, Mrs Thwaytes requested the young architect Edwin James Dangerfield (1807–1879) of London and Herne Bay to draw a plan of a tower in the style of a Grecian temple with a clock at the top.RIBA British architectural catalogue: Album of views of Gloucestershire churches: Tewkesbury deanery Retrieved 24 November 2013. Edwin J. Dangerfield could be the same architect whose firm Dangerfield, Humphris, and Christian renovated Cheltenham Minster, St Mary's.(1) Born ca.1806 St Mary Whitechapel, London (IGI). (2) Married Mary Nevill 12 May 1831, Holy Trinity, Minories, London (IGI). (3) Death cert: Dangerfield, Edwin James, 72, 1 December 1879, Wandsworth, 1d/483.Blower's London and Provincial Directory 1860: Architects Retrieved 24 November 2013Pigot's Directory 1840: Herne Bay and Herne Street Retrieved 24 November 2013
The building This landmark structure is considered by Herne Bay historian Mike Bundock to be one of the earliest purpose-built, freestanding clock towers in the United Kingdom, and it has been a traditional symbol of Herne Bay since 1894 alongside the heron and Reculver Towers.A short history of Herne Bay Retrieved 25 November 2013 Estimates of height vary, but according to Mike Bundock it is tall, or including the weather vane.Canterbury City Council: Herne Bay Clock Tower Project, Retrieved 25 November 2013Note: Estimates of height vary, however Herne Bay historian Mike Bundock 2000 (see bibliography below) is taken as the authoritative version, as he has direct access to the Tower itself, to the original research of Harold Gough, and to the archives of the Herne Bay Historical Records Society. The clock dials are diameter. It was designed by Edwin James Dangerfield (1807–1879) of London and Herne Bay, and built by Ambrose Hukins (1788–1864), formerly of Chilham and Chartham and latterly of St Augustine's Cottage, William Street, Herne Bay.United Kingdom Census 1851 folio 371, p.43, 1625/HO107, showing him as a builder employing 8 men, born 1787 Chartham, age 64, living in Herne districtDeath cert: March 1864. Hukins Ambrose, Blean, 2a/483
Design The building was listed in 1951, and there is a full description of the design in the Listed Building entry 1085006. The eclectic Victorian design has been criticised by John Newman in the 1965 Buildings of England series. He speaks of an "inept design" and of a "classical vocabulary thus debased," saying that the second stage of Corinthian columns should have been smaller than the first Doric stage of columns. He adds that the top is "hurriedly finished off."Newman, John and Pevsner, Nikolaus, Kent: North East and East, Pevsner Architectural Guides (Yale University Press Academic, 2013) p.350,
Structure The building required deep foundations: "not solid but an elaborate series of arches and vaults," being built close to the sea on shingle and just west of the culverted outflow of Plenty Brook, hence the total estimated cost of £5,000. The vaults were infilled with concrete after inspection in 1964. The Tower's core is brick, with Portland stone cladding. The following legend is inscribed on the building: The gift of Mrs Ann Thwaytes to this town 11 Oct A.D. MDCCCXXXVII. Originally the Tower contained a clock mechanism and 12 cwt bell. In 1837 there were iron railings at the base around the steps but these were removed in 1937.
Clock mechanism and bell
As of 2010, the original 1836 turret clock mechanism by John Moore Junior (later John Moore & Sons) was on display at Herne Bay Museum and Gallery, having been replaced in 1971. The mechanism is sometimes erroneously attributed to Peter Morton of Herne Bay and John Greenwood of Canterbury because their names are engraved on the front, however they were the suppliers and could not have manufactured such a large mechanism. This mechanism is listed in John Moore's 1877 catalogue as: "Herne Bay, Kent. Four 5ft dials, the gift of Mrs Thwaites (sic)." It was installed in the tower on a trestle and encased in a deal box, with doors for access to the winding mechanism. It had extra brass wheels for the striking bell, and was held in an iron frame. The clock had to be wound twice a week, the clock weights providing the stored energy. The pendulum was about long, giving a slow beat of nearly two seconds. The clock winder had to ascend 66 steps, then turn the heavy strike winder 75 times, and the time winder 20 times, using a crank. The bell, made of bell metal, was supplied by Thomas Mears II in 1837, weighs 12 cwt and measures high and diameter. The bell is still functioning in the Tower.
The last long-serving clock winder, Louis Morgan, retired in 1964. The Council hired Peter Hutton between 1965 and 1970, then in 1971 installed a synchronous electric hour striking unit: two small black boxes installed by John Smith & Son of Derby.
History Laying the foundation stone At midday on 3 October 1836 the foundation stone was laid by Ann Thwaytes. At 11 am gentlemen inhabitants, subscribers and visitors joined a procession at the St George's Baths and walked with the local charity school children (beneficiaries of Mrs Thwaytes) to the site to present her with a silver trowel. The ceremony was watched by invited ladies seated on a dais in a plantation decorated with flags, and enlivened by a military band. At 2 pm the charity children and their parents, totalling 500, received a free dinner provided by Mrs Thwaytes. In the afternoon there were boat races, a punt chase and a tightrope performance. On the Pier during the evening there was a Grand Illumination, a firework display, another tightrope performance, magic feats by Ching Lau Lauro, a model of the Clock Tower in fireworks, the Pier entrance illuminated by 30,000 variegated lamps, and a released balloon carrying Mrs Thwaytes' name in fire.Leaflet: Grand Festival at Herne Bay, printed for Mr Christy (director of amusements) by G. Smith of 7 Mortimer St, Herne Bay, 1836 An address of thanks to her was read by George Rohrs, secretary to the Clock Tower trustees who had been appointed by Mrs Thwaytes.Kentish Gazette 11 October 1836: Herne Bay
The opening ceremony It was opened at twelve o'clock on Mrs Thwaytes' 48th birthday, 2 October 1837. A large triumphal arch intertwined with greenery and topped with flags was built close to the Clock Tower. Mrs Thwaytes, accompanied by Simm Smith and wearing a blue satin crinoline, was conveyed along the very short distance from her residence to the Clock Tower in the first of a train of carriages containing trustees of the Clock Tower and other personages bearing wands and wearing blue rosettes. This procession was preceded by blue and white flags and a band, and followed by a cheering multitude. On arrival at the site, the multitude cheered again loudly and hats were thrown. It was noted that Mrs Thwaytes was slightly unwell, but she thanked the crowd. Simm Smith read out her address in which she presented the Clock Tower to the town. At the beginning and end of the ceremony a salute was fired from the four fog-warning cannon on the pier, and a free meal was provided for a hundred charity children, their parents, and the construction workers who built the Tower. Large numbers of gentlemen ate dinners and drank toasts at the Kent and Pier hotels. In the evening there was a firework display and a clock tower in variegated fire created by Mr Fewick who had been in charge of fireworks at the 1836 ceremony.Kent Herald, 5 October 1837: Herne Bay Opening Day was also celebrated by villagers in Herne which was festooned with decorations following Mrs Thwaytes' distribution of money, food and goods.Kentish Gazette 10 October 1837 Celebrations on the anniversary of this opening ceremony and Mrs Thwaytes' birthday continued until at least 1839 when the gentry enjoyed a dinner, ball and concert.Kentish Gazette, 8 October 1839
Early history
On the north-east and north-west corners of the steps two cannon were placed, some time after 1900. They are possibly Dutch in origin, and were found on the seabed on 11 January and 10 April 1899 during the construction of the third Herne Bay Pier. They fired blanks as a fog-warning, and had been mounted on the first Pier until 1862. New carriages and brass plates dating the recovery were made for them. They stood outside the old Pier Theatre and were moved later to the base of the Tower. A plaque, dedicated to the 36 fallen Herne Bay volunteers of the Second Boer War, was affixed shortly after 1902 to the north side.YoungsTypesetting.org.uk: Herne Bay Guide 2013 Retrieved 23 November 2013 It features some well-known local surnames, such as Ridout.KentFallen.com: Herne Bay Clock Tower: image of memorial plaque to the Boer War fallen Retrieved 23 November 2013
20th century