The tower is seen as a rarity with Historic England noting its ‘dignified, neoclassical design’
The Goole clock tower was built to mark the 100th anniversary of the opening of the town and dock.(Image: Historic England Archive, Alun Bull)
Goole’s clock tower has received Grade II-listed status amid the town’s 200th anniversary celebrations. The landmark building outside the Market Hall has been designated by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the advice of Historic England.
Standing on the roundabout which connects Boothferry Road, North Street, Church Street, Estcourt Terrace, Stanhope Street and Carlisle Street, the clock was built to mark Goole’s 100th anniversary as a town and dock. Construction of the neo-classical style landmark was still going on as the town marked its centenary in 1926 with an elaborate historical pageant, music and sporting events.
It was jointly funded by local people and the Aire and Calder Navigation Company, who each contributed £500, as an expression of civic pride. The clock was eventually finished in 1927 and has the years 1826 and 1926 engraved above its four faces.
In the 1970s it was moved by a few metres due to traffic management issues, and used to house public toilets at its base. Historic England says that, unlike most listed interwar clock towers, Goole’s was not built as a war memorial, making it a rare example of a public monument from that period.
Historic England recommended the new listing because “it is considered that Goole Clock Tower meets the criteria for listing on account of its dignified, neoclassical design, its rarity as a clock tower celebrating the centenary of a company town, and because it testifies to Goole’s contribution to national economic growth and development”.
Sarah Charlesworth, Historic England’s North Region Listing Team Leader, said: “Goole clock tower is landmark in the town, a real focal point and a fitting tribute to 200 years of Goole. It is an elegant structure and now it has reached its own century, it seems only right it has been given Grade II-listed status.
“The clock tower is fine example of a community coming together in celebration and this listing is hopefully another reason for Goole to acclaim its bicentennial year.”
The listing of the tower gives it certain protections, with its special interest managed through the planning system. It joins more than 370,000 entries for listed buildings on the National Heritage List for England
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