Information Sheet: Eastgate Clock

Early History

Both the current and medieval East Gates were built on the site of the original East Gate of the Roman Fortress. The Eastgate was considered the main entrance to the City and as such in the medieval period was the most elaborate of Chester's gates. The archway itself was topped by an impressive stone tower with two flanking towers. Its similarities to the Kings Gate at Caernarvon Castle imply that it was built in the early fourteenth century. Reconstruction Drawing of the Medieval Eastgate based on old drawings and the results of excavations in 1972. Copyright Chester Archaeology. The famous clock on the Eastgate was added at the end of the 19th century to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.

From the late 18th century onwards, all Chester's four main Medieval gates were replaced by bridges, carrying the Walls promenade over a wider span which admitted a greater volume of traffic. The current Eastgate was the first of these new 'gates'. It was built in 1768-9 by a Mr Hayden at the expense of Richard, Lord Grosvenor. The City Arms were carved on the keystone facing Foregate Street and the Grosvenor Arms on the keystone facing Eastgate Street. Small round-arched openings on either side of the main arch provided safe passage for pedestrians.

Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee 1897

Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee was an occasion for great celebration. Thanks-giving services were held at churches and cathedrals all over Britain on Sunday 20th June 1897. Tuesday June 22nd was officially celebrated across the Empire as Diamond Jubilee Day. In London Queen Victoria took part in a Royal State procession together with many foreign envoys, colonial officials, and imperial troops. In Chester the sun shone on the day which began with a peal from the Cathedral bells. Local shops and streets displayed a lavish array of flags, banners and bunting, and crowds flocked from the surrounding district to enjoy the day's events. They began with another procession, included special meals and gifts for local schoolchildren and senior citizens, and ended with a spectacular illuminated river carnival. The festivities carried on well into the night whilst the hills around Chester, including Moel Famma, were illuminated with flaming beacons "proclaiming the tale of joy and thanks-giving".

The Architect - John Douglas

John Douglas was a prominent local architect who was largely responsible for the black and white vision of Chester we see today. He had designed a Triumphal Arch to span City Road in 1869 to celebrate the visit of the Prince of Wales to Chester to open the new Town Hall. It was a temporary structure with painted-on black and white timbering and it prompted a suggestion for adding to the Eastgate in 1872 as a permanent memorial of the Prince's visit. John Douglas was asked to prepare the first of a number of designs to enhance the Eastgate by the then Marquis of Westminster (later to become first Duke).

Despite offering to fund half of the cost, the Chester Improvement Committee would not commit any Council funds to the project. The idea was revived again in 1897 as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Celebrations, and John Douglas was asked to submit yet further designs, one of which was finally agreed by the Improvement Committee on 2/3/1898 - a mere twenty six years after the initial idea! The ogee roof (double curved) to the clock turret was the only feature to survive from the original design.

The Building of the Eastgate Clock - a story of donations, oppositions and delays.

The idea of a clock on the Eastgate to form a lasting commemoration of the Diamond Jubilee was not the first idea to be raised, or indeed the most popular for some considerable time. The idea of commemorating the Diamond Jubilee seems to have been first raised in 1896 when the then Duke of Westminster wrote suggesting that the City support Queen Victoria's Jubilee Institute of Nurses. Other alternative suggestions proposed here include a statue of Queen Victoria for the Town Hall square or putting a clock on the Town Hall tower (which was eventually done nearly 100 years later on the 900th Anniversary of the City).

A committee was formed to discuss ideas for the Diamond Jubilee and it was eventually agreed that a subscription fund be opened, with donors able to pledge their subscriptions for a selection of three causes: The Jubilee Institute of Nurses, erection of a memorial tower and clock on the Eastgate, or festivities and public rejoicings. Although there was some early support for the Eastgate proposals, examination of the published lists of subscribers indicates that initially the other two causes were more popular. It took specific canvassing to increase subscriptions for the clock in the spring of 1897.

John Douglas's initial (stone) design was described as both beautiful and feasible in March 1897, and was costed at £1000. However it soon emerged that there were problems with the design which it was feared would seriously restrict daylight to neighbouring properties. A wooden model of the proposed scheme was erected in May to verify the extent of the light problems. In spite of this, there was some concern by mid June that the Committee in charge "will have reached its own Jubilee before resolving the difficulties" and that the Eastgate would look bare after the temporary structure was removed. Despite numerous suggestions on how to proceed, the project continued to stall for several months. In October 1897 a meeting of the subscribers of the £650 19s that had been raised for the project so far was held. This meeting carried a motion to look for a light iron work structure.In December they met again to consider a design by John Douglas for an ornamental metal structure with a clock for the Eastgate.

The Donor of the Eastgate Clock Mechanism.

The clock's faces and mechanism were presented to the City by Edward Evans-Lloyd, with the erection of the tower financed by the public subscription and the City Corporation bearing with cost of maintaining it thereafter.

Edward Evans-Lloyd was a solicitor and freeman of Chester and a citizen of some importance. At various times he was superintendent registrar of the births, deaths and marriages for the Chester District, clerk to the guardians and assessment committee of Tarvin Poor Law union, and a magistrate for both the City and the County. Between 1886 and 1900 he was the Hon. Colonel of the 1st Volunteer Battalion of the Cheshire and Caernarvonshire Artillery and was the Sheriff of Merioneth in 1887-88. He resided at Stanley Street, Chester.

The ultimate design for the Clock was finally approved in March 1898 by the Improvements Committee. However in September Col Evans Lloyd found it necessary to write to the Council to remind them of his offer and ask when he could install the clock mechanism which was now ready. The final Council approvals were unanimously carried and as the structure neared completion, many initial reservations abated.

The Chester Chronicle of April 1st 1899 noted:-

"Mixed as were the feelings with which the erection of the 'clock tower' on the Eastgate was regarded, now that the work is approaching completion the general opinion is one of satisfaction with the structure. Messrs. Douglas, Fordham and Minshall's contributions towards beautifying Chester has been considerable and I think this latest work - which many of us dreaded would be an eyesore - will maintain their reputation".

However only a fortnight later the same paper noted:-

"The clock and stand are certainly handsome - perhaps a little too ornate for their surrounding - but time will tone down anything which now appears a little new and garish".

A Local Concern.

The Eastgate Clock is an interesting example of entirely local manufacture. The cast iron inscriptions were by the Coalbrookdale Iron Co., now part of the Ironbridge Museum. Regrettably no record of the commission survives there.

The ironwork for the Clock Tower was forged by the Handbridge firm of James Swindley. James was John Douglas's cousin and they had worked together on a number of ironwork projects in the area, notably gates for the Eaton and Hawarden estates. James' son, aged about ten at the time, recalled in latter life his work as the "lead waller" on the Eastgate - tending the brazier which kept the molten lead ready for use in joining the forged sections together.

Messrs. J.B. Joyce & Company of Whitchurch, who specialised in large scale clock manufacture, supplied themechanism for the clock: and until 1974 provided the technician who travelled to Chester to wind the mechanism each week. The original mechanism is described as a "pin wheel deadbeat (escapement) timepiece" with four 4ft 6" illuminated dials, probably gas lit. There was some speculation when it was built about its timekeeping abilities as most people thought it must be spring driven as the weights could not be seen. They were however cleverly installed within the tower but out of sight (and reach) of pedestrians. 

The Grand Opening!

After some initial debate about whether to hold a formal opening or not, the official opening of the Eastgate Clock was held on Wednesday 27th May 1899, Queen Victoria's 80th birthday. The Chronicle of 27th May reported:

"The Mayoress Mrs Stolterforth taking her time from Mr Joyce (clockmaker) pulled the tassel and the Eastgate clock started on its public career",

The time was 12.45 pm. Afterwards the Lord Mayor and others adjourned to the Grosvenor Hotel for a subscription lunch.

Controversy was not, however, at an end. The next edition of the Chester Chronicle (May 27th) commented:-

"I trust nobody concerned will take umbrage at my candour but really the demonstration at the opening of the Diamond Jubilee Tower on the Eastgate was one of the most ludicrous turn-outs which it has been my lot to witness. Only one half of the Corporation responded to the Mayor's invitation - rather bad form I think on the part of the absentees. The procession for which a wide avenue was kept through the thousands of amused spectators numbered about 35 rank and file!"

It went on to complain that:-

"the procession itself was more like a funeral march: The rate of progress from the Town Hall to the Eastgate was about a mile an hour and if the corporation has been opening a new mortuary a more fitting display could not have been devised."

100 years of the Eastgate Clock

Even when built the Eastgate still attracted mixed feeling. It was not until 1956 that a view of the Eastgate Clock appeared on the front of the official guide to the City. Today the Eastgate is regularly used to promote the City, and it appears on numerous souvenirs and postcards.

Less orthodox souvenir hunters, who took the hands of the clock itself, forced the Council to glaze the faces in 1988. The original wind up mechanism was replaced four years later by an electrically driven version which reduced maintenance costs.

Finally in 1996 the original decorative scheme was reapplied to the clock faces and metal work after careful paint scrapes have been taken to find the colours that were used in 1899. After 100 years the Eastgate Clock now glitters again, to play its starring role for another 100 years as the most photographed clock in England after Big Ben.

Acknowledgements

This information has been prepared by Chester Museums who would like to thank the Cheshire and Chester Record Offices, Chester Library, Chester Archaeology, Mrs Shallcross, Rod Playford and especially Gillian Langrick for their invaluable help.

Researching the history of Chester's most famous landmark has proved surprisingly difficult. So far we have located the original design for the clock tower's wrought-iron work, established the exact costs for this, and brought back into public notice the connections with Swindley's of handbridge and the Coalbrookdale iron Co. We have, however, been unable to trace any image of Col. Edward Evans-Lloyd who gave the clock mechanism to the City, or the minutes of the original Jubilee Committee.

If you can help with information on these or other aspects of the Eastgate Clock's one hundred years of history please contact the Museums Officer on (01244) 402012. We will update this page if we receive new information.