View form Herne Bay Pier, looking towards the clock tower and the central bandstand,


The Clock Tower, Herne Bay (built 1837), is a Grade II listed landmark in Herne Bay, Kent, England. It is believed to be one of the earliest purpose-built, free-standing clock towers in the United Kingdom. It was funded by Mrs Ann Thwaytes, and now serves as a memorial to the fallen of the Second Boer War. At the time of the erection of the Clock Tower, Ann Thwaytes (1789–1866) was the rich widow of London grocer William Thwaytes.[7] Between 1834 and 1840 she visited Herne Bay regularly with friends, staying with Mr Camplin who owned number 8 (now 30) Marine Terrace on Central Parade, and became an established town benefactor of Herne Bay. While there in 1836 she donated £4,000 for the erection of the Clock Tower, which may have cost £5,000 to build. A blue plaque has been erected in her memory by City of Canterbury Council, at Central Parade near the Clock Tower. The Central Bandstand, known as the Bandstand, in Herne Bay, Kent, England, was designed by H. Kempton Dyson in 1924, extended with an art deco frontage in 1932, and refurbished between 1998 and 1999. It is one of the coastal landmarks of the town. When first built, it was a popular venue for visiting military band concerts and for tea dances. Edwina Mountbatten spoke there on behalf of the Red Cross in 1939. In the 1920s and 1930s a red carpet would be laid across the road and up to the stage for the conductor of the brass band to walk from the Connaught Hotel which was directly opposite the Bandstand.


Size: 5481px × 3551px
Location: Herne Bay, Kent
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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