ABBERLEY CLOCK TOWER - LITTLE BEN

One of the strangest sights in Britain is suddenly seeing what looks like London's Big Ben tower rising up from the forest surrounding the town of Abberley  in northwest Worcestershire, England. It is said that it can be seen from six counties and is best viewed from the east along the Stanford to Abberley road.

It was originally designed by James Piers St Aubyn in 1882 and built by Patman and Fotheringham during 1883 under the guidance of Master Mason George Long. It was completed the following year and is said to have cost £7980. It was built for John Joseph Esq, as part of the Abberley Hall Estate. Today this forms part of Abberley Hall School - an independent co-educational establishment.

Front view of the Abberley Clock Tower

The tower can only be visited by special appointment or on dedicated open days.  The Hall itself is said to be one of the finest surviving examples of a Victorian country house built in the Italianate style.

Abberley clock tower is built on a long linear rise, known as Merritt's Hill, that suddenly drops away to reveal a verdant valley stretching away towards Wales.  The farm below the rise has regularly been used to raise deer.

Construction of the tower was considered a significant achievement at the time as all materials had to be brought to the site by horse and cart.  Given the weight of the stone required one can only imagine how many journeys that this would have needed.

On completion a clock was made and installed by J.B. Joyce of Whitchurch in Shropshire. The company was originally established in 1690 and still maintains it on a regular basis, thus making it one of the oldest surviving businesses in Britain.  There have been claims that the  company itself may well be the  oldest surviving clock maker in the world.  Mechanisms made by the company can be found around the globe from Shanghai in China to Sidney in Australia.

As with many follies and towers scattered across the country there are usually colourful legends associated with these buildings. 

In the case of the clock tower it is said by locals that it was built, at great expense, to ensure that none of the estate workers would ever be able to claim that they didn't know what time it was.  Another story claims that it was an attempt to increase the status of Abberley Hall - particularly in the face of such aristocratic neighbours such as Lord Dudley of Witley Court.

The tower is 161ft  (49m) high and because of the elevation of the forested hill it appears to be considerably taller - as can be seen from the photograph at the top of page.  Close up it becomes very tempting to think of it as Little Ben. There are three general rooms above which is the sewing room. There were originally two flushable toilets however these are no longer used.

The top of Abberley Tower houses a 16 bell carillon said to weigh approximately 21 tons.  Each bell had to be hoisted to the top through a series of trap doors installed in the floor of each lower level.  All of the original louvre's of the Belfry have endured the years except for one which was apparently destroyed by a lightning strike in 1969.  Each side of the tower features an ornate clock face that can be read from a very fair distance.

The name Abberley is believed to be a derivation of the word Edboldelege which most ;likely derives from the name of an Anglo Saxon chieftain called Eobald who lived around the 6th century.

The tower was never meant for long-term human habitation but was occupied during WWII as a Home Guard Observation post.

Two minutes past Six - The Clock Face

The view from the Abberley Clock Tower