Dover

Ah, the white cliffs of Dover, with rampaging bluebirds and ferries to-ing and fro-ing across the sea to France, a distance of only 21 miles (or a bit further if you are going by kilometres).

The port is not as busy as its heyday, what with that Channel Tunnel malarkey, cheap flights to Europe and no more steamers from Margate (which may never have existed in the first place). Talking of Margate, Dover was also a haunt of Mr Turner - which reminds me I must go and see the film.

Anyway, whilst the town centre is perhaps somewhat short of its prime, a lot of effort has been made to make the seafront look good. And on the seafront we find our first clock....

The harbour clock tower was built in 1876-77 and is now Grade II listed. The clock itself was made in 1830 by I P Paine of London, and was installed in an earlier tower which was demolished in 1871.

Further history of the tower, and many other interesting facts about the town, can be found on the Dover Historian site at www.doverhistorian.com.

Not that far from the clock tower is a triple spiral staircase built into the cliffs to enable troops to move from the seafront to the barracks on the cliff tops. These barracks are now ruins, but are well worth visiting, in nothing else for the magnificent views of the sea.

In the town centre in Cannon Street we find the church of St Mary the Virgin. This was originally a Norman church dating from 1066-1086, but was extensively rebuilt in 1843.

And if the clock mechanism fails, there is a back up sundial.

Just up the road is a branch of A Simmonds the jewellers which seem to be a local chain. I wasn't sure if this branch had closed or was undergoing refurbishment.

Continuing inland, the next clock juts proudly out from the side of the old Town Hall.

As in many other locations in the town, the building has a memorial to wartime actions. All I can say is that there must of been giant mutant wildlife on the continent in those days if they could fit that large bell to a mole.

Oh, and look. The first signs of Christmas decorations - you can never have them up too early.

Good old Morrisons - they can often be relied upon to provide a clock, even if it is the same old boring design.

This clock is on a building currently for sale in Castle Street. I wonder if having a clock adds value to the property or whether it is seen as a maintenance liability.

And that's all the clocks I could find in Dover. But I bet there are a few more lurking about, so as ever please let me know.

 

Folkestone

Off to the south coast of Kent to visit the Folkestone Triennial, the three-yearly art festival which continues until 2 November (so get your skates on and go and visit this wonderful collection of sculptural/architectural interventions - see www.folkestonetriennial.org.uk).

There are a few clocks in the town as well. If you follow the Triennial trail and start off from Folkestone Central station, the first one you will see is that of the United Reformed Church on Cheriton Road.

 

The Old Town Hall is in the town centre.

Christ Church is to the west of the town centre on Sandgate Road.

The church is just a tower - the reason why is set out on the stone plaque shown below:

Who said clocks had to have 12 hours? Certainly this clock at the top of the Zig Zag Path has other ideas.

It turns out this is part of an artwork, a leftover from a previous Triennial.

Staying with the art, the next clock on Dover Road can be seen lurking behind one of the installations for the current Triennial.

The building on which the clock is mounted has seen better days...

...and the clock itself looks like it is missing one of its hands (or is this another art work?)

Next up is the church of St Mary and St Eanswythe.

The bus station has a simple an effective timepiece. This is precisely what you need when you are rushing to catch a bus.

And finally another simple clock face design, this time at the East Kent College campus on Shorncliffe Road.