The Haymarket Memorial Clock Tower is a major landmark and popular meeting point in Leicester, England. It is located roughly in the middle of the area inside the ring-road, and is at the point where five major streets meet; Gallowtree Gate, Humberstone Gate (A47), Haymarket (A607), Church Gate (A6) and Eastgates (A47). 52°38′10.55″N1°8′0.39″W / 52.6362639°N 1.1334417°W
Before the construction of the Clock Tower the site had been used for an Assembly Room building, built in 1750, which was re-used and divided as shops in 1805. [1] The building came to be considered "the Haymarket Obstruction" and after a campaign by local property-owners it was demolished in 1862. [1] The hay market on the site remained, however, until it was relocated to Humberstone Gate. [1] The removal of the Assembly Rooms and the hay market left a wide area which pedestrians struggled to cross due to the busy traffic there, and with rumours of an illuminated clock planned for the junction of London Road and Belvoir Street, local businesses began a petition to erect "a clock with a cluster of lamps and a fine colossal statue of that unparalleled benefactor Sir Thomas White" in the area. [1]
An organisation was formed in 1867 to raise funds for the project, led by John Burton, who ran a photography business from a shop adjacent to the site of the tower. [1] Subscriptions were gathered, with further money raised from a concert, and architects were invited to produce designs for "an ornamental structure...in height from 35–40 feet to contain four illuminated dials, four statuettes or medallion busts of ancient benefactors to the town, with a platform around 18 feet square, and lamps as a safeguard to passing pedestrians." [1] 105 designs were received, with a shortlist of three submitted to the town council for consideration, with Joseph Goddard's design being chosen. [1] 472 subscribers contributed a total of 872 pounds, 2 shillings, and 9 pence, with the balance of the £1,200 required provided by the Corporation of Leicester. [2]
The Clock Tower was constructed in 1868. The tower was built mostly in Ketton stone with a base of Mountsorrel granite, and incorporates column shafts made of polished Peterhead granite and serpentine. [3] The statues were made from Portland stone. [1] The site was directly above the junction of two of the city's main sewers which were modified prior to the tower's construction. [1]
Officially a memorial, the Clock Tower has four statues of two persons of particular significance to Leicester and of two notable sons of Leicester, one at each corner, being named on the plinth of each as: Simon de Montfort, Thomas White, William Wyggeston (spelt 'William Wigston' on the plinth on the tower itself) and Gabriel Newton. [1]
At the time of its construction the traffic in the areas was horse-drawn. Tram lines were installed in the area between 1903 and 1904. Originally a traffic island at a 5-way junction, the Clock Tower was later converted to be the centre-piece of a roundabout, in 1926, one of the first in the UK. [1] There were calls for the tower to be demolished in the 1930s, with increasing traffic in the area, and in the 1960s there were suggestions that it should be relocated to Victoria Park, but despite the major changes that have taken place in the area, including the construction of the Haymarket Shopping Centre and the resulting demolition of many nearby buildings (including John Burton's shop) it has remained. Pedestrianisation has now led to Humberstone Gate and Gallowtree Gate being closed to traffic, and the Clock Tower is now bounded by a road solely on the northern side.
Restoration of the tower was undertaken (and substantially funded) in 1992 by architects and engineers Pick Everard to mark the Leicester-based company's 125th anniversary. [2]
In the first decade of the 21st century, Leicester City Council unveiled plans to greatly enhance the Clock Tower through extensive de-cluttering to achieve a restored landmark public space at the heart of the city. [4] [5] Construction on the new site was completed in late 2008.
On Monday 5 November 2007 both the Leicester Mercury and The Sun printed articles on a hoax petition, set up by local man Luke Anthony Williams. Over 3000 people joined a Facebook group to save the Clock Tower, even though plans to demolish the monument were fictitious: the only evidence that he could provide was a Wikipedia edit made by himself. [6]
The tower is a Grade II listed building. [7] In 2010, with the clock losing time, the mechanism was repaired. [7]
Alexanderplatz is a large public square and transport hub in the central Mitte district of Berlin. The square is named after the Russian Tsar Alexander I, which also denotes the larger neighbourhood stretching from Mollstraße in the north-east to Spandauer Straße and the Rotes Rathaus in the south-west.
Leicester is a city, unitary authority area, unparished area and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a population of 373,399 in 2022. The greater Leicester urban area had a population of 559,017 in 2021, making it the 11th most populous in England, and the 13th most populous in the United Kingdom. A 2023 report ranked Leicester 16th out of the 50 largest UK cities on a range of economic measures, and the first of seven East Midlands cities.
Leicester railway station is a mainline railway station in the city of Leicester in Leicestershire, England. The station is managed by East Midlands Railway and owned by Network Rail. The station is served by CrossCountry and East Midlands Railway services. It is the busiest station in Leicestershire, the second busiest station in the East Midlands, and the fifth busiest station in the Midlands as a whole.
The A47 is a major trunk road in England linking Birmingham to Lowestoft, Suffolk, maintained and operated by National Highways. Most of the section between Birmingham and Nuneaton is now classified as the B4114. From Peterborough eastwards, it is a trunk road.
Leicester Market is a market in The City of Leicester, England, on Market Place just south of the clock tower. It is around 800 years old and was moved to the current site around 700 years ago. It is the largest outdoor covered market in Europe.
Haymarket is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is in the west of the city centre and is the junction of several main roads, notably Dalry Road, Corstorphine Road, and Shandwick Place. Haymarket contains a number of pubs, cafés and restaurants.
City Square is a paved area north of Leeds railway station at the junction of Park Row to the east and Wellington Street to the south. It is a triangular area where six roads meet: Infirmary Street and Park Row to the north, Boar Lane and Bishopsgate Street to the south-east, and Quebec Street and Wellington Street to the south-west. The only building with a direct frontage is the former General Post Office, on the north-west side.
Scraptoft is a village in Leicestershire, England. It has a population of about 1,500, measured at the 2011 census as 1,804. It lies north of the A47 road east of Leicester, and runs directly into the built up area of Thurnby and Bushby to the south. For local government the village forms part of the district of Harborough, and constitutes a civil parish.
Leicester City Centre is Leicester's historical commercial, cultural and transport hub and is home to its central business district. Its inner core is roughly delineated by the A594, Leicester's inner ring road, although the various central campuses of the University of Leicester, De Montfort University and Leicester College are adjacent to the inner ring road and could be considered to be a continuation of the City centre. In a similar way, the Leicester Royal Infirmary precinct, New Walk business district (Southfields), the Welford Road Stadium of Leicester Tigers’ RUFC and the King Power Stadium of Leicester City to the south, and the Golden Mile to the north could also be deemed to be extensions to the central core.
The A594 Central Ring is Leicester's central distributor road network.
South Wigston is a large village to the south of Leicester, England. It is outside the city boundary, forming part of the Oadby and Wigston district of Leicestershire. The population at the 2011 census was 7,490.
The Haymarket Shopping Centre is a shopping centre in the city centre of Leicester, England. It was opened on 4 June 1973 as part of the Haymarket Centre and was the country's second shopping centre after the Bull Ring, Birmingham. It is located east of and adjacent to the Clock Tower.
Market Square was a town square located in the centre of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Consisting of eight acres of land, the area was reserved by Governor Sir George Gipps as a town square during the initial surveying of Geelong. The area later became a produce market, before being progressively built upon. Today the Market Square Shopping Centre occupies the site, having been opened in 1985 by the City of Geelong.
Fitzalan Square is a municipal square situated in the city centre of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. The present day square is one of the busiest areas of the city centre, with traffic and pedestrians continually moving through the area. It has a Sheffield Supertram stop and a taxi rank.
High Street is one of the main thoroughfares and shopping areas in the city centre of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England, located at the approximate grid reference of SK356874. High Street starts at the Commercial Street, Fitzalan Square and Haymarket junction and runs for approximately 400 metres west to conclude near the Sheffield Cathedral where it forms a Y-junction with Fargate and Church Street. High Street has the traditional wide variety of shops, financial institutions and eating places which are associated with any British town centre.
Woodgate is an area in Leicester in Fosse Ward. It lies west of the River Soar and is an important entrance to the city leading on to Frog Island. Its western end lies at the 'Fiveways Junction, an intersection of Fosse Road North, Groby Road, Blackbird Road and Buckminster Road. To the south is the Rally Park, which was formerly the goods yard of the London Midland Railway, and originally the route of the Leicester to Swannington Railway built by Robert Stephenson in 1832. To the west is Fosse Road North. At its eastern end Woodgate terminates at the North Bridge over the old River Soar.
Lichfield Clock Tower or Friary Clock Tower is a 19th-century Grade II listed clock tower located on "The Friary" south of Festival Gardens in the city of Lichfield, Staffordshire, England.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Leicester, the county town of Leicestershire, in England.
The Wellington clock tower is a structure that stands on the seafront at Swanage in Dorset, England. It was originally built by the Commissioners for Lighting the West Division of Southwark at the southern end of London Bridge in 1854. It was intended as a memorial to the recently deceased Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, though funds proved insufficient to provide a statue of the man at the top of the tower, as had been originally intended. It housed a clock with four faces that were illuminated from within and a small telegraph office. Within 10 years the structure was overshadowed by the construction of nearby railway structures and became an obstruction to traffic using the bridge. It was disassembled in 1867.
