The Clock House

The Clock House, dating from 1828, was designed by Decimus Burton or built by James Burton as part of the original layout of St Leonards. This unusual house exemplifies early Gothic Revival style. It fronts the original subscription gardens, now St Leonards Gardens, and rises against the hillside. The main entrance is on the east side, and the differing ground levels mean the front door is located on the second floor. The ground plan consists of a central three-storey portion with a small projection, flanked by two wings which are only two storeys high and are not visible from the east side. From the east, it presents as a wide cruciform church with a small tower at the west end. Constructed in sandstone ashlar, the east front, visible only as a single storey above ground, is topped by a parapet adorned with quatrefoil ornamentation and diagonally set buttresses which rise to pinnacles, with a sloping parapet leading to a central peak. The doorway features a dripstone and shield. The recessed transept sections have blocked pointed window spaces with dripstones above. The west front, facing the garden, displays three storeys and the tower as a central projection. The tower boasts buttresses rising to tall pinnacles (one of which remains), a two-light pointed window on the ground floor, a shield and quatrefoil panel above, a three-light pointed window on the second floor with an arcaded panel containing five pointed arches above, and a clock face within a diamond-shaped panel at the top. The north and south faces of the tower are similarly designed. To either side of the tower are recessed window bays containing a two-light pointed window on the ground and second floors, and a square-headed casement window on the first floor, surmounted by a cornice. These window bays are flanked by buttresses rising to pinnacles. Flanking these bays are recessed "transept" portions, flush with the latter, which have no windows and a cornice that extends to form a corbel bracket on each side, supporting a statue within a niche featuring a pointed head and dripstone, topped by a cornice and parapet.