Clock Tower History
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From : "Through The Years (vol. 3) A Pictorial History of Kingswood and the Surrounding Area" by Paul and Jill Willmott.
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| KINGSWOOD
CLOCK TOWER was erected to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen
Victoria in 1897. The site was purchased by Kingswood Urban District
Council in November 1897, for the sum of £20.00. The Chairman of the
Council, Wm. Daniel Strange was so strongly in favour of the building,
that the locals referred to it as "Strange's Folly". The whole
cost was intended to be raised by local subscription but this was not
forthcoming and whilst foundations were laid for a much taller Tower, the
building was only funded to two thirds of the planned height.
The Clock Tower was built by a local builder, Mr. Alfred Amos of Regent Street, for the sum of £142. 16s. 0d. and the plans and drawings were prepared by Mr. John MacKay. The clock and mechanism was supplied by Kemp Bros. Of Union Street, Bristol, at a cost of £72. 15s 0d. The weather vane at £1. 0s 5d. and the bronze memorial tablet at £6.00. A huge tree trunk was also built into the platform in case the clock mechanism should collapse and crush someone walking underneath the tower. The minute hand is 2½ feet long and the main wheels of the clock are made of gunmetal and are 12 inches in diameter. Mr. Kemp, a founder of Kemp Brothers, personally supervised the clock patterns and castings which were made in Fairfax Street, Bristol. The Bristol side of the clock face was replaced in the 1940's after being shattered by the same bomb that damaged the Ambassador Cinema. Access to the clock workings is obtained through a trap door in the platform and the room containing the workings is only 70 inches square. Kemp Bros. Of Bristol maintained the clock, winding it by hand, (44 manual turns per week with a crank handle), until 1951 when council workmen took over. The clock is now electrically operated and is serviced by Smiths of Derby. |