( Above Photo: St Albans Clock Tower )
Another gem to see in St Albans, the nearest city to Canonbury Antiques and well worth a visit after a showroom stop off. St. Albans clock tower was built in 1405 by the people of St. Albans to spite the authority of the Abbot. It is the only surviving medieval belfry in the whole of England. The five-story tower also served as a shop on the ground floor, a shopkeeper's residence on the first floor, and the lock-keepers home on the second floor.
Given its historical significance, the St. Albans clock tower is worth studying even for people today. In building the clock tower, the St. Albans civic authority wanted it to act as a curfew bell to warn people when to retreat indoors and a lookout post for an approaching army or a fire.
A sizeable Victorian clock sat on the tower's third floor after its restoration in 1866. Lord Grimthorpe, designer of the clock tower on the British parliament, designed the St. Albans clock. There is an original one-ton bell on the fourth floor, where it has been for over 700 years. The Admiralty places the Napoleonic shutter telegraph on the roof to provide communication services.
The tower is near Waxhouse Gate, the entrance to the Abbey of At. Albans, where Queen Eleanor's funeral procession rested on its way to London in 1290. Her husband, Edward I, erected a memorial cross before the march continued to Westminster Abbey for the burial.
In 1703, the St. Albans town government replaced the Eleanor cross with a town pump, which in turn was replaced by a fountain in 1874. After removing the fountain, a plaque was placed next to the clock tower as a reminder of the famous funeral procession.
(Above photo - St Albans Cathedral interior - ten minutes from Canonbury Antiques )
Its one-ton curfew bell was cast in 1335 and still hangs in the belfry chamber. During the War of Roses, the bell gave an alarm to signal the first and bloodiest Battle of St. Albans.
The tower was significant in the Napoleonic wars when it served as a semaphore station for the Admiralty. They used it to relay messages between St. Albans and the coastal outpost of Yarmouth, some 220 miles away. It was one of the 16 signaling stations linking the North Sea Fleet Command with the Admiralty offices in London.
In 1837, two local brewers took over the tower and the adjacent building, converting them into a beerhouse. After the Napoleonic wars, the tower was neglected and was nearly demolished. In the 1860s, Sir Gilbert Scott supervised the building's restoration work. Other restoration works have taken place in the 21st century, giving the tower a reasonably long life.
There are many reasons to visit St. Albans Clock Tower, including its historical significance in Napoleonic Wars and the commemorative cross for Queen Eleanor. You can come here through an arranged group tour or on your own. It is open for visits by the public on weekends, except in winter. That gives you room to plan for your visit in advance.
The Bottom Line
Whether you live in England or other parts of the world, visiting St. Albans Clock Tower can offer great lessons in history. So, make a point about coming here soon.
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