Description

GREAT AND LITTLE PLUMSTEAD

494/0/10015 HOSPITAL LANE
18-AUG-03 CLOCK TOWER, LITTLE PLUMSTEAD HOSPITAL

II
Clock tower. 1903. Arts and Crafts style. Rendered red brick and tile; plaintile roof.
PLAN: square tapering tower.
EXTERIOR: 3 stages. Dado of tiles on edge arranged in squares in a chequerwork pattern with a finishing top course in chevron. 2 string courses above of similar chevron pattern tiling, the lower one interrupted on the east face by 3 narrow round-headed lancets constructed entirely of tiles seen edge-on. Upper stage with a circular clock face in a square field with the date in the spandrels: 1903. The west face has at the same level a square-headed lancet of tiles. Cornice of tiles in chevron pattern above, followed by an open cupola carried on one semi-circular tile arch to each face. Pyramid roof with overhanging eaves, and an iron weathervane.
INTERIOR: access from the north from the existing stable building through an opening with a semi-circular head. First floor reached by a ladder: plain interior containing water tanks and clock weights. In upper stage is a timber trestle clock frame, supporting a cast-iron and brass tower clock mechanism inscribed on the face of the setting dial: Made by/ John Moore & Sons/ Camberwell/ London/ 1843.
This is an attractive and accomplished clocktower in Arts and Crafts style, done at the height of the movement in Norfolk, which was a pioneering county in this respect. Such clock towers are uncommon. Second-hand clock movement of 1843 by John Moore.
The abutting stable buildings of 1889 are much altered and are not of special architectural interest

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26669950

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
• 
  Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990: Updated version