Image 01 – In the photograph taken from the air (c1920), the Clock Tower can be seen standing on the junction of West Parade and Park Avenue. The Museum building stands at the other end with Egerton Park laid out behind. Between the Clock Tower and the sea stands the old bandstand, which was long since demolished, and between that and the sea the approach and entrance to Bexhill’s Pier, which was never built, can be seen.
Image 02 – Coloured postcard (c1930) – On the left is the Clock Tower, in the centre, the small bandstand, and, on the right, the brick wall can just about be seen with the railings curving round to, what was to have been, the Pier Entrance.
Image 03 – Another coloured postcard (c1920) shows the Clock Tower, and the small bandstand.
Image 04 –Taken c1938, shows the Clock Tower, the Bandstand and, much clearer than previous images, the brick wall which would have been part of the entrance to the pier.
King Edward VII’s Coronation took place on 9th August 1902. In the same month Bexhill Council considered building a memorial in commemoration of Edwards coronation. £80 had been set aside from the festivities for this purpose, but this was of course inadequate and a further sum was allocated. An executive committee was with Mr H Gorringe Smith as its Honorary Secretary.
In September a Mr J W Webb offered two pieces of land on the West Parade for the erection of a clock tower or a monument. The council accepted the land and in October a scheme for a permanent memorial was received from Messrs W H Bailey from Manchester. It was agreed that the memorial would be on one of Mr Webb’s plots. In December the council decided on a clock tower, with a plaque on it that would read:
“Commemoration of the Coronation of King Edward VII – August 9th 1902”
In 1904 the clock tower was completed but, unfortunately, no plaque or dedication was ever installed.