Clock Tower
CLOCK TOWER, MARKET PLACE
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1393792
- Date first listed:
- 14-May-2010
- List Entry Name:
- Clock Tower
- Statutory Address:
- CLOCK TOWER, MARKET PLACE
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1393792
- Date first listed:
- 14-May-2010
- List Entry Name:
- Clock Tower
- Statutory Address 1:
- CLOCK TOWER, MARKET PLACE
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- CLOCK TOWER, MARKET PLACE
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Suffolk
- District:
- Babergh (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Bildeston
- National Grid Reference:
- TL 99253 49475
Reasons for Designation
The clock tower, Bildeston, is recommended for listing at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Its design is well balanced and pleasing, makes effective use of materials and detail and expresses civic pride. * It is a relatively early example of a freestanding clock tower. Funded partly by public subscription, it illustrates the importance of time to the rapidly changing society of the mid C19. * It has group value with the buildings around the Market Place, all of which are listed.
Details
BILDESTON
966/0/10049 MARKET PLACE 14-MAY-10 Clock Tower
GV II Clock tower; erected in 1864. Gault brick to first stage, red brick with gault brick dressings to second and third stage, slate roof.
EXTERIOR: The tower is square in plan, of three stages with a slightly concave pyramidal roof capped with a small cupola with steep pyramidal roof, at the top of which is a weathervane. The first stage is of gault brick with banded rustication, and has open round arches on all four sides. The second stage is stepped in, and on all four sides has narrow round arched windows set within recessed rectangles. Both second and third stages have gault brick quoins. The third stage has blind bulls eye openings set within recessed squares to three sides; the fourth bulls eye contains a clock.
HISTORY: The industrial revolution and the rapid development of the railway network in the mid C19 introduced accurate, synchronised timekeeping into the lives of ordinary people. Individual timepieces were rare, and clock towers, either attached to buildings or freestanding, became a much more common feature of town and village life. Public clocks were so important that freestanding towers were often erected as significant commemorative structures, for example for Queen Victoria's Jubilee. The clock tower at Bildeston, however, seems to have been designed simply for the benefit of the community. Erected in 1864 at a cost of £200, it was funded partly from the sale of a charity property, and partly by public subscription.
REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: The clock tower, Bildeston, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Its design is well balanced and pleasing, makes effective use of materials and detail and expresses civic pride. * It is a relatively early example of a freestanding clock tower. Funded partly by public subscription, it illustrates the importance of time to the rapidly changing society of the mid C19. * It has group value with the buildings around the Market Place, all of which are listed.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 505386
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 16-Jun-2026 at 10:17:03.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.