Marblehead is a coastal New England town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, along the North Shore. Its population was 20,441 at the 2020 census. The town lies on a small peninsula that extends into the northern part of Massachusetts Bay. Attached to the town is a near island, known as Marblehead Neck, connected to the mainland by a narrow isthmus. Marblehead Harbor, protected by shallow shoals and rocks from the open sea, lies between the mainland and the Neck. Beside the Marblehead town center, two other villages lie within the town: the Old Town, which was the original town center, and Clifton, which lies along the border with the neighboring town of Swampscott.
Clock towers are a specific type of structure that house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another building. Some other buildings also have clock faces on their exterior but these structures serve other main functions.
The Cathedral Church of Saint Philip, also called the Birmingham Cathedral, is a Church of England cathedral and the seat of the Bishop of Birmingham. Built as a parish church in the Baroque style by Thomas Archer, it was consecrated in 1715. Located on Colmore Row in central Birmingham, St Philip's became the cathedral of the newly formed Diocese of Birmingham in 1905. The cathedral is a Grade I listed building.
A grandfather clock is a tall, freestanding, weight-driven pendulum clock, with the pendulum held inside the tower or waist of the case. Clocks of this style are commonly 1.8–2.4 metres (6–8 feet) tall with an enclosed pendulum and weights, suspended by either cables or chains, which have to be occasionally calibrated to keep the proper time. The case often features elaborately carved ornamentation on the hood, which surrounds and frames the dial, or clock face.
The vergeescapement is the earliest known type of mechanical escapement, the mechanism in a mechanical clock that controls its rate by allowing the gear train to advance at regular intervals or 'ticks'. Verge escapements were used from the late 13th century until the mid 19th century in clocks and pocketwatches. The name verge comes from the Latin virga, meaning stick or rod.
Gillett & Johnston was a clockmaker and bell foundry based in Croydon, England from 1844 until 1957. Between 1844 and 1950, over 14,000 tower clocks were made at the works. The company's most successful and prominent period of activity as a bellfounder was in the 1920s and 1930s, when it was responsible for supplying many important bells and carillons for sites across Britain and around the world.
The Salisbury Cathedral clock is a large iron-framed tower clock without a dial, in Salisbury Cathedral, England. Thought to date from about 1386, it is a well-preserved example of the earliest type of mechanical clock, called verge and foliot clocks, and is said to be the oldest working clock in the world, although similar claims are made for other clocks. Previously in a bell-tower which was demolished in 1790, the clock was restored to working condition in 1956 and is on display in the North nave aisle of the cathedral, close to the West front.
John Glover was an American fisherman, merchant, politician, and military leader from Marblehead, Massachusetts, who served as a brigadier general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He is most famous in American history for his role in helping found what would become the United States Navy, along with his regiment rowing Washington across the Delaware, the Battle of Long Island, and leading one of the first integrated regiments in the American Revolution.
A turret clock or tower clock is a clock designed to be mounted high in the wall of a building, usually in a clock tower, in public buildings such as churches, university buildings, and town halls. As a public amenity to enable the community to tell the time, it has a large face visible from far away, and often a striking mechanism which rings bells upon the hours.
The schooner Hannah was the first armed American naval vessel of the American Revolution, authorized by the Continental Congress and operated by the Continental Army, and is considered by some the first vessel of the United States Navy. She was a fishing schooner owned by John Glover of Marblehead, Massachusetts and was named for his daughter, Hannah Glover. The crew was drawn largely from the town of Marblehead, with much of the ship's ammunition being stored in Glover's warehouse now located at Glover's Square in Marblehead before being relocated to Beverly, Massachusetts.
Elm Park, also known as Clocktower Park, is a historic park near the junction of Massachusetts Route 16 and Massachusetts Route 9 in the Wellesley Hills section of Wellesley, Massachusetts. It is a triangular parcel of 1.24 acres (0.50 ha), laid out for passive recreation. Its focal point is the 75-foot (23 m) brick and masonry Sprague Tower, designed by Benjamin Proctor, Jr., and built in 1928 to house a clock and bell given to the town in 1874. A portion of the now-defunct Cochituate Aqueduct passes through the park. Land for the park was acquired in 1908 by the town with funds raised by the community; the clock and bell were the gift of John Shaw. Isaac Sprague, for whom the tower is named, sat on the committee which oversaw its construction, and donated materials for that purpose.
Holyoke City Hall is the historic city hall of Holyoke, Massachusetts. It is located at 536 Dwight Street, on the south east corner of High Street and Dwight Street. Serving both as the city administrative center and a public timepiece for the industrial city's workers, construction began on the Gothic Revival structure in 1871 to a design by architect Charles B. Atwood. Difficulties and delays in construction were compounded by Atwood's failure to deliver updated drawings in a timely manner, and the design work was turned over to Henry F. Kilburn in 1874. The building was completed two years later at a cost of $500,000. It has housed city offices since then.
The Old Town House is in the heart of the Marblehead Historic District at One Market Square in Marblehead, Massachusetts, at the intersection of Washington, State, and Mugford Streets.
All Saints is a parish church in Maidstone, Kent. It is a Grade I listed building, and has been described as the grandest Perpendicular style church in Kent.
John Orne Johnson Frost, who signed his work as J. O. J. Frost, was an early 20th-century American folk artist. He began painting at the age of 70, without receiving any formal training. Frost considered himself a historian, not an artist, and his paintings portrayed daily life in the fishing village of Marblehead, Massachusetts, during the mid-19th century, as well as the town's colonial history.
William Doliber Gregory was an American sea captain born in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Gregory was captain of the clipper ship Tejuca from her 1854 completion to her foundering and sinking in an 1856 hurricane; Gregory and most of his crew were rescued only at the last moment by the courageous intervention of a passing ship. Gregory was later commander of the bark Albers, and in 1857 is said to have put down a riot on his ship virtually singlehanded.
The Ellen E. Ward Memorial Clock Tower is a historic clock tower in the Village of Roslyn, Nassau County, New York. It is considered the symbol of Roslyn and appears on that village's official seal.
The Abbot Public Library is a library in Marblehead, Massachusetts. The building is located at 235 Pleasant Street. The Library is a member of the North of Boston Library Exchange (NOBLE) consortium. The grounds are maintained by the Driftwood Garden Club. Book sales are organized by the Friends of the Abbot Public Library and fundraising is organized by the Abbot Public Library Foundation.
James John Howard Gregory was an American educator, horticultural businessman, writer, politician, and philanthropist from Marblehead, Massachusetts. Gregory started his career as a public school teacher and later served as a principal. In 1854, he founded a successful seed company, introduced innovations like seed catalogs and developed notable varieties such as the Hubbard squash and cherry tomato. Due to the success of his business, he was known as the "Seed King of Marblehead". Gregory also served as a Massachusetts State Senator (1876–1877) and Marblehead Selectman, advocating for local development and education. A prolific author, he wrote practical gardening guides and supported African American education through the Marblehead Libraries program and school donations.
