The Clock Tower, Brighton, Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

The Clock Tower, also known as the Jubilee Clock Tower, is a Victorian street monument at the busy junction in the centre of Brighton. It was built to mark Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee and has been a meeting point and landmark for the town ever since.

The story behind it

The tower was commissioned by James Willing, a local advertising contractor, and it was put up to celebrate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. Willing's name is still written on the clock face, which was a fitting bit of self-promotion from a man who made his living from advertising.

Not everyone has loved it. Over the years the tower has divided opinion: some critics have found it awkward and have called for it to go, while others value it as a nostalgic piece of Brighton's history and a fixed point in the life of the city centre. As a Grade II listed structure it is protected, so it is not going anywhere.

What to look for

• Look at the clock face for the name Willing, a reminder of the advertising contractor who paid for the tower.
• Look up to the top of the tower, where the finial and time ball crown the structure above the rooftops.
• Notice how the Victorian tower sits in the middle of the traffic and shopfronts around it, and how it makes a natural landmark for anyone finding their way.
• Walk all the way around it to see the clock faces from different angles and compare the tower with the buildings facing it.

Tips for your visit

• This is a monument you view from the street, so there is nothing to go inside and no ticket to buy. Five to ten minutes is plenty for the tower itself.
• Pause on a quieter pavement, as the junction is busy with buses, cars and pedestrians, especially in the middle of the day.
• It sits close to the Lanes, the seafront and the Royal Pavilion, so it works well as a first stop on a walk through central Brighton.
• Early morning is the best time for photographs without crowds around the base.

See it on a quest

Mythic Monster Quests: The Great Gull Of Brighton is a good way to see the Clock Tower. You reach it on foot as one stop of a longer route through central Brighton, the app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle on the spot rather than just walking past. It is a self-guided quest, so you can start whenever suits you, and one ticket covers the whole group.