The Town Clock, also sometimes called the Old Town Clock or Citadel Clock Tower, is a clock tower located at Fort George in the

urban core A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fre ...

of Halifax, the capital city of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

History

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, (Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick; born 9 October 1935) is a member of the British royal family. Queen Elizabeth II and Edward were first cousins through their fathers, King George VI, and Prince George, Duke ...

, the commander-in-chief of the military forces of

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestow ...

, is credited with the idea of a clock for the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

garrison at Halifax, to resolve tardiness in the garrison. He arranged for a

turret clock A turret clock or tower clock is a clock designed to be mounted high in the wall of a building, usually in a clock tower, in public buildings such as churches, university buildings, and town halls. As a public amenity to enable the community to ...

to be manufactured before his return to England in 1800. The clock tower is a three-tiered (three storey), irregular octagon tower built atop a one-storey white clapboard building of classic

Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

proportions. It was erected on the east slope of Citadel Hill facing Barrack (now Brunswick) Street. The clock face is 4-sided, displaying Roman numerals. As with most clocks the "4" is shown as IIII for aesthetic symmetry and not as IV. The clock mechanism was constructed by the "House of Vulliamy", respected Royal Clockmakers based in London. It is driven by three weights, gears, and a 13-foot pendulum with the mechanism being housed in a

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron– carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impur ...

frame located in the "clock room", immediately below the belfry. Its bell strikes hourly and quarterly and the durability of the mechanism (which dates to the original installation) is attributed to its slow movement. The Town Clock began keeping time for the garrison on October 20, 1803. The tower housing the Town Clock has been used in the past as a guard room and as a residence for the clock caretaker. The first caretaker of the Citadel Clock had the surname Dechman. Restoration work on the Town Clock has taken place at various times during the 20th century, with the property passing into the care of Parks Canada, which has responsibility for the Citadel Hill National Historic Site. The caretaker position ceased in 1965 with its maintenance now being performed by Citadel Hill employees, who wind the clock mechanism twice weekly. A major restoration project in 1960 saw the exterior façade of the Town Clock building returned to its original Georgian appearance and roof replaced due to water damage. George Rose, a parks employee recorded this restoration. Another restoration was carried out in 2005 to restore the clock's faces. New copper roofing and restored clock face/hands were done in 2018. As a Halifax icon, the Town Clock has featured in many artworks, fictional and non-fictional accounts of Halifax. One among many is a depiction of the town clock as a character named Chimey in the children's television show ''

Theodore Tugboat ''Theodore Tugboat'' is a Canadian children's television series about a tugboat named Theodore who lives in the Big Harbour with all of his friends. The show originated (and is set) in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada as a co-production between th ...

''.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Parks Canada, Halifax Citadel National Historic Site - The Town Clock

History

References

External links

See also