Clock Tower In Preston Park

The clock tower in Preston Park, located on the north side of Stanford Avenue in Brighton, was built in 1891, with an inscription from 1892. It was designed by FJC May for the Recreation Committee of Brighton Borough Council and funded by Councillor Edward White. The construction was carried out by F Patching and Son. The tower features red and buff terracotta, brick, stone, granite, copper, and tiles.

The structure has an alternating square and octagonal plan and is set on a plinth of granite steps. The first stage is square with a battered base made of buff terracotta. It has aedicules on either side formed by columns of buff terracotta that support an entablature with a stone frieze and an open pediment of red terracotta, which displays the date 1891 in a cartouche. Each aedicule contains a round-arched niche with a Gibbs surround and a polished granite panel below, except for the east side, which features a flat-arched entrance with a door adorned with ornate wrought-iron hinges and a shell-niche above.

The upper part of the tower transitions to the second stage, which has a red terracotta frieze of festoons and long sides facing the cardinal directions with 3-light, segmental-arched blank tracery. Below this, there is a cartouche flanked by seated putti, followed by a frieze of blank ogee tracery. The third stage houses clocks on each face, framed by a circular moulding and heraldic griffins at the lower corners holding shields with the initials EW, along with festoons and a pediment above. The clock faces are flanked by corbelled, octagonal, panelled, domed pinnacles, which may be incomplete. The fourth stage is an octagonal lantern made of timber, featuring deep bracketed eaves and a domed octagonal roof topped with a weather-vane that is dated.