Clock Tower, St Albans
The Clock Tower is a Grade I listed belfry in St Albans, England which was constructed between 1403 and 1412, believed to have been completed in 1405. It has been claimed to be the only remaining medieval town belfry in England. Its construction has been seen as a protest against the power of the local abbey to regulate time-keeping in the town. Design The Clock Tower is high, and has 5 floors including the roof. Each floor is slightly narrower than the previous, with each floor being marked externally by a stone string. The outside of the Tower is faced in flint, has freestone dressings, including quoins on each corner. The stone battlemented parapet features gargoyles on each angle. The ground floor has three wide windows (one on each exposed face) under four centered, triple chamfered arches. The second floor features 2 windows on each face, one above the other. Each window is cusped and rests under a square head. The third floor features the clock on the southern face, and a solitary window on the north. This is a cusped ogee window with trefoils carved into the spandrels. The fourth floor similarly has cusped ogee windows, however, on this floor they appear on each face, and are doubles. The top floor of the Clock Tower doubles as its roof, which can be reached via a 93 step spiral staircase. History The Clock Tower was built between 1403 and 1412, and is believed to have been completed in 1405. The Tower was built close to the site of the Eleanor cross. Twelve Eleanor crosses were constructed throughout eastern England under the orders of King Edward I between 1291 and 1294 in memory of his wife Eleanor of Castile. The site of each cross marks the nightly resting place of Eleanor's funeral procession. The cross at St Albans cost £113 to build and was constructed in 1291. The top section of the St Albans Eleanor Cross was destroyed during the English Civil War, and the rest of the monument was later demolished in 1701–1702. In its place, the Market cross, a gazebo style structure was built in 1703. This it turn was torn down in 1810, as it was deemed to be a danger to traffic. Once removed, railings were installed around the town pump. The pump was subsequently also removed, and, in 1874, philanthropist Isabella Worley donated a drinking fountain the town. In the latter part of the 20th Century, the fountain was dismantled and rebuilt in nearby Victoria Square. The Tower was designed and built by Thomas Wolvey a former Royal Mason, and it is believed it was built as a protest against the power of St Albans Abbey. The belief is that the local merchants were in favour of the Tower being built, as it meant their hours would no longer be decided by those at the Abbey, who had a clock and peal of bells of their own. Prolific architect Sir Gilbert Scott would later state that