The Albert Memorial Clock (more commonly referred to as the Albert Clock) is a clock tower situated at Queen's Square in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was completed in 1869 and is one of the best known landmarks of Belfast.
The Albert Memorial Clock (more commonly referred to as the Albert Clock) is a clock tower situated at Queen's Square in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was completed in 1869 and is one of the best known landmarks of Belfast.
In 1865 a competition for the design of a memorial to Queen Victoria's late Prince consort, Prince Albert, was won by W. J. Barre, who had earlier designed Belfast's Ulster Hall. Initially Barre was not awarded his prize and the contract was secretly given to Lanyon, Lynn, and Lanyon, who had come second. Following public outcry the contract was eventually awarded to Barre. [1] The construction cost of £2,500 (2011: £196,000) was raised by public subscription. [2]
The sandstone memorial was constructed between 1865 and 1869 by Fitzpatrick Brothers builders and stands 113 feet tall in a mix of French and Italian Gothic styles. The base of the tower features flying buttresses with heraldic lions. A statue of the Prince in the robes of a Knight of the Garter stands on the western side of the tower and was sculpted by SF Lynn. A two tonne bell is housed in the tower and the clock was made by Francis Moore of High Street, Belfast. [3] [4]
As a result of being built on wooden piles on marshy, reclaimed land around the River Farset, the top of the tower leans four feet off the perpendicular. Due to this movement, some ornamental work on the belfry was removed in 1924 along with a stone canopy over the statue of the Prince. [3] This gave rise to the expression that the tower “has the time and the inclination.”
Being situated close to the docks, the tower was once infamous for being frequented by prostitutes plying their trade with visiting sailors. However, in recent years regeneration has turned the surrounding Queen's Square and Custom's House Square into attractive, modern public spaces with trees, fountains and sculptures. [5]
The clock was damaged in a Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb explosion outside nearby River House in High Street on 6 January 1992.
To halt the worsening lean and repair damage caused by the elements and heavy passing traffic, a multimillion-pound restoration project was completed in 2002. During the project the wooden foundations were strengthened, the majority of the decaying carvings were replaced and the entire tower was cleaned.
In 1947, the film Odd Man Out was filmed partly in Belfast [6] , with the Albert Clock as a central location, although neither the town nor the clock is explicitly identified.
This clock appears in Danger Man S3E4 You are not in any Trouble, Are you? , filmed in 1965. [7]
Albert Square is a public square in the centre of Manchester, England. It is dominated by its largest building, the Grade I listed Manchester Town Hall, a Victorian Gothic building by Alfred Waterhouse. Other smaller buildings from the same period surround it, many of which are listed.
The Laganside Corporation was a non-departmental public body formed by the Laganside Development Order 1989 with the goal of regenerating large sections of land in Belfast, Northern Ireland adjacent to the River Lagan. This development area was expanded in 1996 to include areas closer to the city centre.
Belfast City Centre is the central business district of Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Sir Thomas Brock was an English sculptor and medallist, notable for the creation of several large public sculptures and monuments in Britain and abroad in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His most famous work is the Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace, London. Other commissions included the redesign of the effigy of Queen Victoria on British coinage, the massive bronze equestrian statue of Edward, the Black Prince, in City Square, Leeds and the completion of the statue of Prince Albert on the Albert Memorial.
John Henry Foley, often referred to as J. H. Foley, was an Irish sculptor, working in London. He is best known for his statues of Daniel O'Connell in Dublin, and of Prince Albert for the Albert Memorial in London and for a number of works in India.
Belfast City Hall is the civic building of Belfast City Council located in Donegall Square, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It faces North and effectively divides the commercial and business areas of the city centre. It is a Grade A listed building.
Scrabo Tower is a 135 feet (41 m) high 19th-century lookout tower or folly that stands on Scrabo Hill near Newtownards in County Down, Northern Ireland. It provides wide views and is a landmark that can be seen from afar. It was built as a memorial to Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry and was originally known as the Londonderry Monument. Its architectural style is Scottish Baronial Revival.
Sir Charles Lanyon DL, JP was an English architect of the 19th century. His work is most closely associated with Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Queen's Quarter is the southernmost quarter in Belfast, Northern Ireland and named after Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland's largest university. The Quarter is centred on the Lanyon Building, the University's most prominent building, designed by architect Sir Charles Lanyon, while Botanic Avenue, Stranmillis Road, University Road and Malone Road are the main thoroughfares through the area. The Quarter encompasses a region bounded by the Ormeau Road, the Holylands and Stranmillis Embankment to the east and the Lisburn Road to the west.
Events from the year 1870 in Ireland.
The buildings and structures of Belfast, Northern Ireland comprise many styles of architecture ranging from Edwardian through to state-of-the-art modern buildings like the Waterfront Hall. The city's beautiful Edwardian buildings are notable for their display of a large number of sculptures. Many of Belfast's Victorian landmarks, including the main Lanyon Building at Queens University in 1849, were designed by Sir Charles Lanyon.
William Joseph Barre was a prolific Irish architect who built many well known buildings in Belfast in a Gothic Revival style, but was always overshadowed by his great rival, Charles Lanyon.
William Henry Lynn (1829–1915) was an Irish-born architect with a practice in Belfast and the north of England. He is noted for his Ruskinian Venetian Gothic public buildings, which include Chester Town Hall and Barrow-in-Furness Town Hall.
Lanyon, Lynn & Lanyon, Civil Engineers and Architects was a 19th-century firm working mainly in Dublin and Belfast, and the leading architectural firm in Belfast during the 1860s. Its partners were Charles Lanyon, William Henry Lynn, and Charles' son John Lanyon.
The architecture of Belfast comprises architectural styles ranging from Georgian through to modernist buildings such as the Waterfront Hall and Titanic Belfast. The city's Victorian and Edwardian buildings are notable for their display of a large number of sculptures. Many of Belfast's Victorian era landmarks, including the main Lanyon Building at Queens University, were designed by Sir Charles Lanyon.
The Albert Memorial is a memorial in London, England, to Prince Albert, the consort of Queen Victoria. A related memorial is the adjacent Royal Albert Hall, a concert hall.
The War Memorial Building is a grade B2 listed building in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The building, modernist in design, was constructed in 1959–1962 on the site of a hotel destroyed during the 1941 Belfast Blitz. The building was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and housed organisations and charities related to the British armed forces. The site currently lies empty and has been placed on the Heritage at Risk Register. The current owners have applied for permission to convert the building into a 120-bedroom hotel.
54°36′03″N5°55′28″W / 54.60083°N 5.92444°W
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