Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB26/50/055

Address :
Albert Clock Queens Square Belfast County Antrim BT1 3FG

Townland:
Town Parks

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Survey 2:
A

Date of Listing:
27/11/1975 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Clock Tower

Former Use
Clock Tower

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
130-13NE

IG Ref:
J3418 7449

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Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

A freestanding memorial clock tower built 1869 to commemorate Prince Albert, in a mix of French and Italian Gothic style to designs by W.J. Barre, located in Queen’s Square, Belfast. Rectangular on plan, approximately 110 ft tall, with a slightly lean off the perpendicular. The clock comprises base, shaft, clock stage and belfry stage and is largely constructed of ashlar Scrabo sandstone; several ornamental elements were reinstated c.2000. Square three-tiered tapered stone base with crocketted and gabletted flying buttresses to each centre and corner, those to corners supporting heraldic lions bearing a shield carved with an ‘A’; the third stage of the base, from which the flying buttresses project, is enriched with a Gothic arcade carried on slender colonettes with foliated capitals, each spandrel carved with an individually detailed roundel. The entrance is at east (in place of the central buttress), comprising a steeply pitched stone porch with blind roundel to tympanum over square-headed doorway with chamfered jambs topped with foliate carving; riveted double-leaf timber latticework door with diamond pointed panels to lower section and openwork panels above, inset with mesh and ironwork lattice detail. The shaft is plainly detailed with three Giant pilasters to each side having foliate capitals punctuating a narrow machicolated-style frieze; there are praying angels to each corner. To the west elevation is a Portland stone statue of Prince Albert by S. F. Lynn, on richly embellished corbelled base rising from clustered polished granite colonettes over the central buttress; the base is enriched with finely carved stone angels, and the statue is surmounted by a richly detailed Gothic canopy. The clock stage projects slightly over the arcaded frieze and foliated cornice; it comprises a recessed circular clock face to each side, having moulded reveal inset with crockets and delicate arabesque carving to spandrels; a cusped panelled pier clasps each corner rising to a foliated capital, and further Gothic arcaded frieze and enriched cornice. Clock faces of opaque glass with ironwork hands and numerals, partially gilded. Octagonal bell tower decorated with openwork crocketted pinnacles to corners and pyramidal roof; pierced parapet around the belfry, which has a cusped Gothic opening to each facet, clasped by corner pilasters, foliate cornice, and having enriched gablet over; stone gargoyles project from each angle. The roof is topped with a gilded finial supporting a weathervane. Setting: The Albert Memorial Clock is set in a prominent location at the junction of Victoria Street and Custom House Square, east of Belfast city centre. It is enclosed by cast-iron railings (maker’s mark, Riddell), and surrounded by paving and public realm works. Ajacent to several other listed buildings including Trustee Savings Bank (HB26/50/056) to north; Transport House (HB26/50/274) to north west; St George’s Church (HB26/50/045) to south west; Custom House (HB26/50/062) and McHugh’s Bar (HB26/50/274) to east. Material: Scrabo stone

Architects

Barre, William J

Historical Information

The Albert Memorial, more popularly known as the Albert Clock, is the finest example of a High Victorian monument in the city of Belfast and was constructed between 1865 and 1869 to a design by W. J. Barre. A Newry and Belfast-based architect of the mid-Victorian period, Barre (c. 1826-1867) moved to the city in 1860 after winning the competition to design the Ulster Hall. Barre’s practise flourished, however it was short-lived as he died of an illness in 1867; the Albert Clock was one of Barre’s final designs and was not completed until two years after his death. The design of the Albert Clock was decided through a competition set by a general committee (tasked with erecting a memorial to Queen Victoria’s late husband, Prince Albert, who had died in 1861. The competition was also entered by prominent local architects, Lanyon, Lynn and Lanyon, who came in second place after some controversy (Irish Builder, p. 21). The Albert Memorial Clock first appears on the third edition of the Ordnance Survey maps in 1901-02 where it was depicted as a simple square-shaped structure; however the memorial clock was not included in the valuation records, the Annual Revisions. Patton states that soon after Barre had won the competition to design the Albert Memorial, the decision was reversed by the general committee who then awarded Lanyon, Lynn and Lanyon the contract; controversy ensued when it emerged that Charles Lanyon, then an M.P. for the city, had been present when the decision was made and the committee were forced to reverse their verdict once more resulting in Barre being reappointed as winner (Patton, p. 321). Barre’s design stands 113 feet high and is capped with a four-sided clock by Francis Moore, containing a two-tonne bell which can be heard for eight miles radius. The statue of Prince Albert was not designed by Barre but was undertaken by Samuel Ferres Lynn (younger brother of architect W. H. Lynn); the statue depicts Prince Albert, in formal garter robes, standing on a pulpit of praying angels on the western face of the monument. The statue was originally installed in 1869, at the completion of the monument; when originally finished the Prince’s statue was shaded by an ornate canopy, however this was removed by at least 1974 (when it is visibly absent on the First Survey image) (Irish Builder, p. 102). Larmour states that the Albert Clock resembles ‘a High Victorian version of the ‘Big Ben’ Clock Tower at Westminster, but in place of Pugin’s late English Gothic detail we have here Barre’s favoured eclectic mix of styles including Early French and Italian Gothic, with early Renaissance heraldic lions to the flying buttresses at the base’ (Larmour, p. 51). There is some doubt that Barre was the architect at all, Brett, states that the design may owe more to his assistant chief Charles Acton Sherry, however there is no evidence to argue either way and Barre retains authorship of the structure (Brett, p. 34). The Albert Memorial Clock suffers from a noticeable list to the east, a result of its construction on marshy reclaimed land (the river Farset continues to flow underneath the clock); in 1901 the list was so pronounced that one commentator noticed it to ‘have been considerably out of plumb;’ many of the original ornate crockets and pinnacles, including the prince’s canopy, were removed in 1924 in order to correct the list (Patton, p. 321). The Albert Memorial Clock was listed in 1975, however by 1985 Brett wrote that the once elaborate memorial was ‘now black and dingy;’ the First Survey Image of 1974 records the poor condition of the clock, the lack of ornamentation a reminder of the preventative measures of 1924. However, despite these precautionary measures, the list of the clock continued to worsen neccesitating the major restoration of the tower undertaken in 2000-02. This restoration was funded by a £1 million National Lottery grant and resulted in the replacement of many lost features, such as Prince Albert’s canopy and the ornamentation around the Octagonal cupola, which had previously appeared quite bare. Further, the clock face, which had been damaged by an explosion during the 1990s, was cleaned and restored, whilst the project was also tasked to remove much of the cement and mortar render that had been previously used to repair the building (Belfast Telegraph, 2002). The Albert Memorial Clock has been restored to its originally intended splendour, the original eclectic character of W. J. Barre’s design reinstated and the stonework repaired and brightened. References Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/1/61/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1858 2. PRONI OS/6/1/61/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1901-02 3. PRONI OS/6/1/61/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1931 4. PRONI OS/6/1/61/5 – Fifth Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1938 5. Irish Builder, Vol. 9 (15 Jan 1867); Vol. 18 (15 Apr 1876) 6. Ordnance Survey Map – 130-13SE (1959) 7. First Survey Record – HB26/50/055 (1970) 8. First Survey Image – HB26/50/055 (1974) 9. Belfast Telegraph – 25 May 2002 Secondary Sources 1. NIEA HB File – HB26/50/055 2. Brett, C. E. B., ‘Buildings of Belfast: 1700-1914’ Belfast: Friar’s Bush Press, 1985. 3. Dixon, H; Walker, B., ‘In Belfast Town: 1864-1880’ Belfast: The Friar’s Bush Press, 1996. 4. Larmour, P., ‘Belfast: An illustrated architectural guide’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1987. 5. Patton, M., ‘Central Belfast: An historical gazetteer’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1993 Online Resources 1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form I. Quality and survival of Interior J. Setting

Historic Interest

V. Authorship W. Northern Ireland/International Interest Z. Rarity

Evaluation

The Albert Memorial Clock is a landmark memorial clock tower erected in 1869 in a blend of French and Italian Gothic styles to the designs of prominent Ulster architect W.J Barre. The clock tower features lively ornamentation in Scrabo sandstone, and a fine statue of the Queen's Consort, Prince Albert, to whom the clock tower is dedicated, by S.F Lynn. The structural piles supporting the structure on reclaimed ground over the River Farset account for the slight lean off the perpendicular for which the clock is renowned. While the stonework has undergone extensive reinstatement in recent years, the structure is otherwise largely intact and original clock mechanisms are still in place. Of interest as the work of a notable architect and as a memorial in fine style representing the civic aspirations of the city.

General Comments

Date of Survey

08 August 2012