To spot the Jubilee Clock Tower, just look straight ahead on the Esplanade for a tall, boldly coloured red and gold clock tower standing proudly on a stone base-it’s hard to miss against the backdrop of the beach!
Now, as you stand here, picture the year 1887. The sea air is buzzing with excitement, bunting flaps wildly, and a joyful crowd gathers right here on Weymouth’s Esplanade. All around you, the townsfolk are celebrating the Jubilee of Queen Victoria-fifty years on the throne! It’s the sort of day when you’d expect the seagulls to sing “God Save the Queen,” if only they knew the words.
People passed hats, cheered, and managed to raise a tidy £100-quite a sum in those days-dreaming of a magnificent clock tower to mark this grand occasion. But, in true dramatic fashion, they came up short for the clock itself. That’s when Sir Henry Edwards-a man with a flair for timing-stepped in and donated the actual clock. To make it even brighter at night, the gas company generously offered to keep it lit for free, forever. Free gas in Britain? Now that’s rarer than a sunny bank holiday!
The unveiling day in October 1888 must have been a spectacle-imagine the proud, colourful tower (not unlike a giant birthday candle for Queen Victoria herself) gleaming beside the golden sands. And guess what? The clock was so popular they even had to reshape the seafront around it in the 1920s to give beachgoers more room, but they never dared move it, not even an inch!
Painted in bold, eye-catching colours and firmly rooted on its Portland stone base, the Jubilee Clock Tower remains a ‘florid’ symbol of Weymouth’s love for celebration, community spirit, and the occasional royal party. So next time you check the time here, think of Victorian crowds, seaside cheers, and maybe give a little tip of the hat to Sir Henry for making sure no one in Weymouth was ever late again!
