This commemorative key was presented at the opening of Brighton Clock Tower on 28 June 1888. The Clock Tower still stands today at the junction of North Street, West Street, Western Road and Queen’s Road.
Forgotten name
Brighton Clock Tower is familiar to most residents of the city, but few will know it by the name of ‘Willing’s Jubilee Clock Tower’.
It had been commissioned to mark the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria the previous year. The tower still bears portraits of Queen Victoria, her late husband Prince Albert, her son Prince Edward, and his wife Princess Alexandra.
The clock was given to the town by local businessman James Willing, who paid £2000 for its construction. Although less prominent than the royal family, his name can still be see on a bronze plaque that sits beneath the portrait of Queen Victoria.
Author: Dan Robertson, Curator of Local History and Archaeology