Morpeth Clock Tower is a building located off the Market Place, Morpeth,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The tower stands 60 ft high with walls 3 ft 6 in thick. It stands close to the Morpeth Town Hall (originally designed by Vanbrugh in 1714) and the YMCA buildings of 1905. It is Grade II*

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 ...

History

The Clock Tower was constructed sometime between 1604 and 1634 out of recycled Medieval stone giving it its much older appearance. The stone was thought to come from a gatehouse that previously stood at the west end of Oldgate. However, it is more likely to have been built out of stone from the nearby ruined

Newminster Abbey Newminster Abbey was a Cistercian abbey in Northumberland in the north of England. The site is protected by Grade II listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument status. Ranulph de Merlay, lord of Morpeth, and his wife, Juliana, daughter ...

which was dissolved in 1537. The tower acquired a peal of six bells cast by the prominent bell founder Richard Phelps (of

Whitechapel Bell Foundry The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was a business in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. At the time of the closure of its Whitechapel premises, it was the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain. The bell foundry primarily made church bells ...

) in 1706 at the request of Major General

Edmund Maine Lieutenant-General Edmund Maine (20 January 1633 – 25 April 1711) was an English soldier and politician. Life He was a lieutenant-colonel of a cavalry unit in Scotland in 1679. He then served as lieutenant-colonel under John Churchill with th ...

, MP of Morpeth. These bells were originally intended to be made for the Parish Church of

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

. However, the people of Berwick failed to elect the Maine to office as a member of parliament a couple of years previously. On his successful election as MP of Morpeth, the bells were presented to the

Corporation A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

of Morpeth. This gave rise to the curious local saying that "Berwick Bells are heard in Morpeth." To accommodate the bells, a top storey (

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

) was built in 1706. By the early 20th century, the bells had fallen into disrepair and were eventually recast and hung in a new

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

frame in 1951 by

John Taylor & Co John Taylor Bell Foundry (Loughborough) Limited, trading as John Taylor & Co and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry, Taylor's of Loughborough, or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell (instrument), bell foundry. It is locat ...

to commemorate the

Festival of Britain The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Labour Party cabinet member Herbert Morrison was the prime mover; in 1947 he started with the ...

References

{{Authority control Grade II listed buildings in Northumberland Clock towers in the United Kingdom Towers in Northumberland Morpeth, Northumberland Towers completed in the 17th century