Chrisp Street Market Clock Tower

The Chrisp Street Market Clock Tower is a rectangular clock tower built in 1952, designed by Frederick Gibberd. It is constructed from red-brown brick laid in monk bond. The longer east and west sides are primarily brick, while the north and south sides are mostly open, enclosed only by railings at each stair landing.

Access to the tower is provided by two interlinked flights of reinforced concrete stairs that start from opposite sides, allowing one route up and another down, meeting only at the viewing platform at the top. Gibberd noted that the design of these stairs was inspired by the famous double staircase at the Château de Chambord in France. The criss-crossing arrangement of the stairs is visible on the outer faces of the tower, with exposed concrete stair beams and landing edges creating a lozenge motif in the brickwork on the east and west sides, where the center of each lozenge is pierced and enclosed with railings.

At the top of the stairs, there is a viewing platform that projects from the tower, with all four sides open at this level. Above this, the tower continues with solid brickwork featuring a large clock face on each side. The clock faces consist of a white steel ring with black numbers and white steel hands. The tower is topped with a shallow pitched roof.