Eastgate Clock
Text: Chester City Council
After Big Ben, this is probably the most photographed clock in the world!
The Eastgate Clock is such a famous local landmark that it is hard to beieve that it is a relativly recent addition to the City Wall. The Eastgate on which it stands was erected in 1768 - 69, replacing the medieval gate, a pointed arch between two octagonal towers surrmounted by a battlement. A simple gas light was added in the early 19th century.
The idea of erecting a clock to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897, was widely contested, but eventually designs by the Chester architect John Douglas were accepted. Douglas had wanted to design a clock for the gate for many years and had proposed schemes in 1881 when he designed the adjacent Grosvenor Club, and again in 1884 when a masonry clock tower was suggested.
Douglas's cheerful clock turret with ogee roof and open wrought iron structure,was finally unveiled at a civic ceremony in 1899, although it is dated 1897, the year of the Jubilee. The iron work was made by Douglas's cousin James Swindley of Handbridge, and the clock itself is by J B Joyce of Whitchurch.
For over 100 years, the Eastgate Clock has been popularly regarded as the symbol of Chester. It has been decorated at times of local and national celebration and has appeared in countless post-cards and guide books since late Victorian times.