Clock Tower is a Grade II listed building in the Lichfield local planning authority area, England. First listed on 6 March 1970. Clock tower. 2 related planning applications.
Clock Tower
- WRENN ID
- haunted-tin-umber
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Lichfield
- Constituency
- Lichfield MP: Dave Robertson (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 6 March 1970
- Type
- Clock tower
- Address
- Clock Tower, the Friary
- OS grid reference
- SK 113 091
- Coordinates
- 52.67969, -1.8334
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Clock Tower is a notable structure built in 1863 and relocated to its current site in 1928. Designed by Joseph Potter Jnr, it is constructed of ashlar stone and features a swept slate roof. The tower is four stages high with a pyramidal roof and is designed in the Norman style.
The lowest stage includes a cornice with a zig-zag pattern and weathering above it. The east face features a round-headed entrance with a zig-zag arch and an enriched tympanum, along with a door that has enriched strap hinges. Above the entrance, a plaque details the history of the Crucifix conduit, which existed from 1201 to 1863. To the south, there is a bronze plaque commemorating the gift of the Friary estate to the City Council, and to the west, another plaque notes the tower's removal from its original site. The north face has a quatrefoil panel that marks the foundation of the conduit, flanked by round-headed niches that once held drinking fountains—one with a scalloped bowl and the other shallower, now missing its bowl. Above these niches are two round-headed lights with grilles.
The second stage features a cornice with weathering, and on three faces, there are 3-light blind windows with colonnettes and enriched arches, along with glazed slits. Above these, there is a shorter 5-light window with a zig-zag sill band and two slits, while the west face has three single-chamfered lights. The third stage is marked by round clock faces on each side. The top stage includes nook shafts and a corbel table, with bell openings of four lights and louvres on each face, topped with a finial.
Originally built at the corner of The Friary and Bird Street, the Clock Tower was constructed on the site of the Crucifix Conduit, established around 1201 by the Guild of SS Mary and John the Baptist. The assets of this guild were transferred in 1545 to the Conduits Lands Trust, which built the tower over the now-redundant conduit. The tower was dismantled and rebuilt at its current location when The Friary was developed. The Clock Tower serves as a significant landmark in the city.
Local climate
Clock Tower receives an average of 790 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 56% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 75% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 37 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 69% of listed buildings. Of these, 18 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- Related listed building consents — 2 applications
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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