Clock House And Clock Tower

TL 8422-8522 COGGESHALL STONEHAM STREET (west side)

9/178 No. 1 (Clock House) 31.10.66 and Clock Tower (formerly listed as No. 1 (Clock House) and Clock Turret)

GV II

House, C14 and c.1600, extended in C17 and C19, now shop, bakery and flat over, and clock tower, late C18. Timber framed, plastered and weatherboarded, roofed with handmade red plain tiles. 2-bay range of narrow span facing NE, and wider parallel range to rear. Hexagonal clock tower built into front left corner of front range. C14 one-bay wing to rear of left bay, with late C16 axial stack at front end, and C17 2-bay extension beyond, with axial stack in rear bay. C19 extension of red brick in Flemish bond beyond, the rear gable end weatherboarded. House of 2 storeys, clock tower of 4 stages. Ground floor, one C20 bow shop window. First floor, 2 C20 metal casements with diamond leading. Open foot passage at right end, entrance to shop off passage. Continuous roof over both parallel ranges with gablet hip at left end, the clock tower protruding. The tower is weatherboarded, with clocks on the N and SE elevations, moulded and dentilled cornice, domed lead roof, hexagonal cupola with bell, ogival metal roof, ball finial and iron weathervane; 2 painted inscriptions 'V.R. 1887'. The rear elevation has on the ground floor an original window of c.1600 with one ovolo mullion and 2 diamond saddle bars with modern diamond leaded glazing. An original doorway with plain head leads through from the front to the rear range. In the rear range, chamfered axial and transverse beams with lamb's tongue stops, and C18 attached corner cupboard with half-round arched head, spheroid interior and profiled shelves. C20 grate in wide wood-burning hearth facing forwards, similar hearth to rear blocked. In the passage to right a chamfered beam with plain stops is exposed, with heavy plain joists of square section jointed to it with low-central tenons. In the rear wing the beam and joists are similar. In the extension beyond, plain joists of vertical section are jointed to a chamfered axial beam with soffit tenons with diminished haunches; wood-burning hearth, chamfered mantel beam with lamb's tongue and notch stop at right end only, altered or re-used. Upper storey not inspected. The clock tower was built in 1787 to replace a clock on the Corn Market House, which formerly stood in the middle of Market Hill, and which was demolished in that year. It was restored in 1887 to mark Queen Victoria's golden jubilee. (G.F. Beaumont, A History of Coggeshall in Essex, 1890, 174-5). RCHM 49.

Listing NGR: TL8499522628