Dufftown Clock Tower is a stone tower with a clock at the crossroads in the centre of

Dufftown Dufftown ( ) is a burgh in Moray, Scotland. While the town is part of the historic Mortlach parish, the town was established and laid out in the early 19th century as part of a planned new town settlement. The town has several listed 19th centur ...

Banffshire Banffshire (; ; ) is a historic county in Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. The historic county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975. Since 1996 the area has been spli ...

, at the focal point of the town square. It became a Class B

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

in 1972. The town was a

planned settlement A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

, developed from 1817 by

James Duff, 4th Earl Fife James Duff, 4th Earl Fife, KT, GCH (6 October 1776 – 9 March 1857), was a Scottish nobleman who became a Spanish general. Biography James was the elder son of the Hon. Alexander Duff, who succeeded his brother as third Earl Fife in 1809. H ...

, near

Balvenie Castle Balvenie Castle is a ruined castle 1 km north of Dufftown in the Moray region of Scotland. History Originally known as ''Mortlach'', it was built in the 12th century by a branch of the powerful Comyn family (the ''Black Comyns'') and wa ...

and Balvenie House. There are six

malt whisky Malt whisky is whisky made from a fermented mashing, mash consisting of malted barley. If the product is made exclusively at a single distillery (along with other restrictions), it is typically called a single malt whisky. Although malt whisky ca ...

distilleries operating nearby:

, Mortlach, Glendullan,

Balvenie Balvenie distillery is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery located in Dufftown, Scotland. Is owned by William Grant & Sons. History William Grant was born on 19 December 1839 in his father's house in Dufftown. At seven he be ...

, Kininvie, and

Glenfiddich Glenfiddich distillery () is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery located in the Scottish burgh of Dufftown in Moray, Scotland. Is owned by William Grant & Sons. The name Glenfiddich derives from the Scottish Gaelic ''Gleann Fhiodhai ...

. The three storey tower was constructed of grey granite with pink granite dressings in 1839, as the town gaol. After use as a prison, and then as the Burgh Chambers, it is now a

Tourist Information Centre A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center or tourist information centre is a physical location that provides information to tourists. Types A visitor center may be a Civic ce ...

. The ground floor has doors to the south and west, with band courses between the floors. The first and second floors have a window recess on each elevation; some have a

sash window A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double glazing) of glass. History ...

but many are blank. The walls have some mock circular

gun loop An embrasure (or crenel or crenelle; sometimes called gunhole in the domain of gunpowder-era architecture) is the opening in a battlement between two raised solid portions (merlons). Alternatively, an embrasure can be a space hollowed out ...

s. The crenellated parapet has a clock face on each elevation, with a dummy

bartizan A bartizan (an alteration of ''bratticing''), also called a guerite, ''garita'', or ''échauguette'', or spelled bartisan, is an overhanging turret projecting from the walls of late-medieval and early-modern fortifications from the early 14th c ...

at each corner. The tower was originally topped by a leaded steeple; it now has a

bellcote A bellcote, bell-cote or bell-cot is a small framework and shelter for one or more bells. Bellcotes are most common in church architecture but are also seen on institutions such as schools. The bellcote may be carried on brackets projecting from ...

with leaded ogee roof, ball finial and weathervane. The clock was brought to Dufftown from Banff, where it was known as "the Clock That Hanged MacPherson": MacPherson of Kingussie was convicted and condemned to death, and the

Sheriff of Banff The Sheriff of Banff was historically the office responsible for enforcing law and order and bringing criminals to justice in Banff, Scotland. Prior to 1748 most sheriffdoms were held on a hereditary basis. From that date, following the Jacobit ...

Lord Braco put the clock forward by 15 minutes to ensure that MacPherson would be hanged before a pardon arrive. Around the base of the tower are plaques commemorating

Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are ...

(1849-1912) and

Lord Mount Stephen George Stephen, 1st Baron Mount Stephen, (5 June 1829 – 29 November 1921), known as Sir George Stephen, Bt, between 1886 and 1891, was a Canadian businessman. Originally from Scotland, he made his fame in Montreal and was the first Canadian t ...

(1829-1921), and another plaque records that the clock was illuminated to commemorate

Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria was officially celebrated on 22 June 1897 to mark the occasion of the Diamond jubilee, 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837. Queen Victoria was the first British monarch ever to cel ...

in 1897. A single storey pink granite extension was added to the north in 1925. File:Tower With Clock - panoramio.jpg, In 2011 File:The Clock Tower at Dufftown - geograph.org.uk - 1620351.jpg, In 2009 File:Dufftown Clock Tower (A941) - geograph.org.uk - 526638.jpg, In 2007 File:Dufftown clock tower.jpg, In 2007 File:Clock Tower,Dufftown. - geograph.org.uk - 162346.jpg, In 2006

References

Dufftown
iTraveluk.co.uk

Undiscovered Scotland {{coord, 57.44483, -3.12837, format=dms, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Category B listed buildings in Moray Clock towers in the United Kingdom Towers completed in 1839 Dufftown

See also

References