The Jubilee Clock Tower is a free-standing

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...

on the Esplanade of Weymouth,

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

, England. It was built and erected in 1888 to commemorate the 1887

Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria The Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria was celebrated on 20 and 21 June 1887 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837. It was celebrated with a Thanksgiving Service at Westminster Abbey, and a banquet to which ...

and became Grade II Listed in 1974.

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

described the clock as being a "florid but characteristic enrichment to the sea-front" and "boldy coloured". It is built of cast and wrought-iron and set on a

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building sto ...

base.

History

Weymouth's Jubilee Clock Tower was built to commemorate Queen Victoria's 50 years of reign in 1887. The tower was paid for by public subscription, with £100 having been collected during celebrations on Her Majesty's Jubilee day of 21 June 1887. The Jubilee Committee then approached the council with the idea for the clock tower, which was readily accepted. As fundraising did not reach enough to provide the clock itself, Sir Henry Edwards donated one, while the gas company agreed to keep the clock illuminated for free in perpetuity. Weymouth Corporation provided the stone base. The clock tower was unveiled on 31 October 1888. Erected on Weymouth's esplanade, it was set in front of the esplanade slightly projecting onto the sands of

Weymouth Beach __NOTOC__ Weymouth Beach is a gently curving arc of sand in Weymouth Bay, beside the town of Weymouth in Dorset, England. Immediately adjacent to the beach is The Esplanade. The beach is a popular destination for sea bathing, and was frequ ...

. In the 1920s, the esplanade was extended around it to protect the beach from the encroachment of shingle from the eastern end, and to provide more promenade space on the seaward side. The clock tower itself was not moved. The clock tower was also painted in bright colours during the same decade.

References

{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Weymouth, Dorset 1888 establishments in England Towers completed in 1888 Clock towers in the United Kingdom Monuments and memorials to Queen Victoria Grade II listed buildings in Dorset Grade II listed monuments and memorials Monuments and memorials in Dorset Weymouth Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria