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All the United Kingdom England Chester Chester Town Hall Clock Tower

Chester Town Hall Clock Tower

The western face was supposedly left clock-less to snub the Welsh.

Chester, England

Added By
Gavin
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Chester Town Hall.   John S Turner/cc by-sa 2.0
Chester Town Hall.   John S Turner/cc by-sa 2.0
The west-facing side has no clock.   Map Data © 2018 Google
Chester Town Hall.   Katie Chan/cc by-sa 3.0
  rbenn250 / Atlas Obscura User
Chester Town Hall   Jaszmina Szendrey / Atlas Obscura User
West facing no “clock” face.   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
West facing no “clock” face.   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Chester Town Hall Clock Tower   Gavin / Atlas Obscura User
Chester Town Hall.   Jeff Buck/cc by-sa 2.0
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About

This stately building towers above the city center of Chester, England. If you take a good look at the clock tower, you’ll notice something’s a bit off. Only three of its four sides have clocks.

The west-facing side of the tower remains blank. As this wall faces Wales, local legend says the reason for its missing clock was because “Chester won’t give the Welsh the time of day.”

The supposed snub may be because of an old rivalry, as the English city is right over the border from Wales. It isn’t the only bit of lore hinting at ill will between the Chester and its neighboring country. There’s also an urban legend about a medieval law saying that any Chester resident may shoot a Welshman with a longbow if he loiters within the city walls after sunset. Thankfully, this supposed law is not acknowledged, and shooting anyone is illegal.

The town hall was ceremoniously opened in 1869 by Edward VII, who at the time was the Prince of Wales. The three clock faces were installed a century later, in 1979. The clock tower was loosely based on the Cloth Hall in Ypres.

Related Tags

Clocks Towers Legends Architectural Oddities Architecture

Know Before You Go

The clock tower is located on Chester Town Hall. You'll find it on Northgate Street in the city center. It's a roughly 15-minute walk from the train station.

Community Contributors

Added By

Gavin

Edited By

Jaszmina Szendrey, SEANETTA, Kerry Wolfe, rbenn250

  • Jaszmina Szendrey
  • SEANETTA
  • Kerry Wolfe
  • rbenn250

Published

August 13, 2018

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Sources
  • http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMXTYF_Town_Hall_Clock_Chester_Cheshire_England_UK
  • https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1206432
  • http://chester.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Shoot_the_Welsh
  • https://books.google.com/books?id=IkovJnw2g9gC&pg=PT207&lpg=PT207&dq=Chester+won%E2%80%99t+give+the+Welsh+the+time+of+day&source=bl&ots=uidg6-SI8I&sig=0Hch0GDZ6h6qpiHjsanrS66YGy4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwij3IzGi-PcAhVD34MKHT1DAiIQ6AEwBXoECAUQAQ#v=onepage&q=Chester%20won%E2%80%99t%20give%20the%20Welsh%20the%20time%20of%20day&f=false
  • https://www.thenational.ae/sport/in-the-english-fifth-tier-an-old-feud-still-boils-the-blood-when-chester-host-wrexham-1.239223
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-35376020
  • https://web.archive.org/web/20090327004335/http://www.virtualchester.org/view/view_location.php?id=1
  • https://artuk.org/visit/venues/chester-town-hall-6109
Chester Town Hall Clock Tower
25 Northgate St
Chester, England
United Kingdom
53.19113, -2.892103
Visit Website
Get Directions

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