Epsom Clock Tower
One of the most recognisable features of the town centre is the Epsom Clock Tower. But did you know that it was originally a weatherboarded Watch House that dates back to around 1711 and was located by what used to be the town’s pond? The Watch House was split into a fire engine house and a temporary lock-up – where the village policeman was paid by the parish vestry for escorting prisoners to trial at the nearest town after they had been locked up overnight.
After the vestry resolved to pull it down and sell all the materials including the clock, the task of re-designing it fell to two London architects James Butler and Henry Hodge. The Builder magazine reported that: ‘The openings for the dials are four feet six inches, and is to be built of red and Suffolk bricks. The four lions, bearing shields, are to be of Caen stone’.
On 19 November 1847, the foundation stone of Epsom Clock Tower was laid by Thomas Tompson, who was the chairman of the rebuilding committee. In fact, he owned a linen drapery shop which was situated in the spot Waterstones is now. After the ceremony, his committee retired to dinner at the nearby Kings Head, while hundreds of locals celebrated with beer in the streets!
Epsom Clock Tower
One of the most recognisable features of the town centre is the Epsom Clock Tower. But did you know that it was originally a weatherboarded Watch House that dates back to around 1711 and was located by what used to be the town’s pond? The Watch House was split into a fire engine house and a temporary lock-up – where the village policeman was paid by the parish vestry for escorting prisoners to trial at the nearest town after they had been locked up overnight.
After the vestry resolved to pull it down and sell all the materials including the clock, the task of re-designing it fell to two London architects James Butler and Henry Hodge. The Builder magazine reported that: ‘The openings for the dials are four feet six inches, and is to be built of red and Suffolk bricks. The four lions, bearing shields, are to be of Caen stone’.
On 19 November 1847, the foundation stone of Epsom Clock Tower was laid by Thomas Tompson, who was the chairman of the rebuilding committee. In fact, he owned a linen drapery shop which was situated in the spot Waterstones is now. After the ceremony, his committee retired to dinner at the nearby Kings Head, while hundreds of locals celebrated with beer in the streets!