Clock Tower in Wednesbury Market Place

The clock tower, built in 1911, commemorates the coronation of King George V and was designed by Charles William Davies Joynson (1862-1943). It is constructed of red brick and sandstone.

The tower has a square base measuring approximately five by five metres. The exterior is four sided, with elevations facing north-east, south-east, south-west, and north-west. The lower section is built of thin bricks in a Flemish bond pattern, while the upper section showcases a Baroque style in stone. The tower stands on three square stone steps, the upper two of which have rounded extensions to the centres of each of their four sides.

The brick portion of the tower features a moulded stone skirting at its base. Towards the top, each face of the brick section has a single, centrally located narrow arrow-slit opening below a lintel of three vertically rubbed bricks. A narrow door is located on the south-west face, above which is a stone segmental pediment with a single keystone, supported by scrolled bracket corbels on either side of the doorhead.

A stone plaque on the north-western brick face is inscribed with details of the tower’s construction, including the dedication to King George V and Queen Mary, the date the foundation stone was laid (June 22, 1911), and the names of Councillor Edwin James Hunt (Mayor of Wednesbury), Thos. Jones (Town Clerk), Charles William Davies Joynson (Architect), and Summerhill & Jellyman (builders).

The brick section is separated from the stone section by a stone cornice and frieze, running continuously across all four faces. Carved foliage flanks a stone shield in the centre of the frieze on each face. The south-west and north-east facing shields display the coat of arms of Wednesbury, featuring two lions and the motto ‘ARTE, MARTE, VIGORE’. The north-western shield is carved with the initials ‘GR V’ (for King George V) beneath a crown, and the initial ‘M’ (for Queen Mary) beneath a crown decorates the south-eastern shield.

Above the dividing cornice, a pair of Ionic columns is set diagonally to each corner. A globe-shaped lamp on an iron base sits at the feet of each pair of columns. Between the columns on each side of the monument is a clock face surrounded by carved festoons. A cornice with a blank frieze sits atop the columns, projecting over them and forming the base for a dome. The dome has a carved band separating a coffered top from a rusticated lower portion, topped with a finial.