The McKee Clock is a

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 ...

in the City of Bangor, Northern Ireland. Situated at the foot of High Street in the

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

's sunken gardens in an area known as the "McKee Clock Arena", the clock is named for its benefactor William McKee, a local

rates Rate or rates may refer to: Finance * Rates (tax), a type of taxation system in the United Kingdom used to fund local government * Exchange rate, rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another Mathematics and science * Rate (mathema ...

collector who donated £200 (a very large sum of money at the time) towards its construction. The clock was designed by Mr Bell, the town's surveyor, and built in 1915 by John McNeilly from stone quarried at Ballycullen, near

Newtownards Newtownards is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Newtownard ...

. On the base of the clock, a black granite slab is engraved with the inscription "8 July 1915. This stone records the appreciation of the Bangor Urban District Council for the generous gift of this clock to his native town by James McKee. The above James McKee died on 28th April 1919". During World War II the Luftwaffe dropped a bomb that landed on the top of the clock. Fortunately little damage resulted. The clock tower is a familiar sight to Bangor natives and visitors alike, and is a popular meeting place in the town.

References

{{commons category Clock towers in the United Kingdom Towers in Northern Ireland Buildings and structures in County Down Bangor, County Down Towers completed in 1915