Clock Tower

BILDESTON

966/0/10049 MARKET PLACE 14-MAY-10 Clock Tower

GV II Clock tower; erected in 1864. Gault brick to first stage, red brick with gault brick dressings to second and third stage, slate roof.

EXTERIOR: The tower is square in plan, of three stages with a slightly concave pyramidal roof capped with a small cupola with steep pyramidal roof, at the top of which is a weathervane. The first stage is of gault brick with banded rustication, and has open round arches on all four sides. The second stage is stepped in, and on all four sides has narrow round arched windows set within recessed rectangles. Both second and third stages have gault brick quoins. The third stage has blind bulls eye openings set within recessed squares to three sides; the fourth bulls eye contains a clock.

HISTORY: The industrial revolution and the rapid development of the railway network in the mid C19 introduced accurate, synchronised timekeeping into the lives of ordinary people. Individual timepieces were rare, and clock towers, either attached to buildings or freestanding, became a much more common feature of town and village life. Public clocks were so important that freestanding towers were often erected as significant commemorative structures, for example for Queen Victoria's Jubilee. The clock tower at Bildeston, however, seems to have been designed simply for the benefit of the community. Erected in 1864 at a cost of £200, it was funded partly from the sale of a charity property, and partly by public subscription.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: The clock tower, Bildeston, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Its design is well balanced and pleasing, makes effective use of materials and detail and expresses civic pride. * It is a relatively early example of a freestanding clock tower. Funded partly by public subscription, it illustrates the importance of time to the rapidly changing society of the mid C19. * It has group value with the buildings around the Market Place, all of which are listed.