Today we have wrist watches or mobiles phones to read the the time but before these inventions the best way to find the time quickly was to use a public clock, many churches and shops would have clocks on the outside of their building, also most towns had grand ornate Civic Clocks. Southend had such public clocks, some are long gone, some are still here but no longer do they tell the time whilst a few carry on what they have been doing for generations telling the time. NOTE: Church clocks are not included in this article.

2020 Floral Clock

Floral Clock Probably one of Southends most famous clocks was the floral clock located alongside the bandstand site on Clifftown Terrace. It’s position has moved, it was originally located further along Clifftown Terrace halfway between the bandstand site and the cenotaph. It had been located there since it was first built between 1919 and 1939, it was relocated in 2006. The clock face changed most years including: 1937: George VI coronation. 1992: Southend Borough Centenary 2006: Southend United Centenary 2009: Centenary of the South East Essex Scottish Society 2010: Centenary of Girl Guiding

Millennium Clock Unveiled on Saturday 7th January 2001 by the then mayor Graham Longley the £50,000 timepiece would rotate on its plinth and on the hours would sound Big Ben style chimes whilst a train and sun would spin. The Millennium Clock had a flaw it could not be made fully water proof and was prone to breaking down, it was removed in February 2011 and placed into storage.

Pier Hill Clock Erected as part of the 1896 Pier Hill development the clock was the centre point of the new retail and leisure facility that opened in the summer, the clock tower had a small bandstand located underneath it. The Pier Hill Arcade was demolished in 1977 long after the clock tower had been removed. The building had sat unused for a number of years a later fire caused serious damage to the structure.

Passenger Tram Shelter Clock During the early days of the tram service in Southend a passenger tram shelter was built by Walter Macfarlane & Co at Victoria Circus, it was positioned in the area between the Municipal Technology College and the Dixons Department store site. The shelter was of cast iron construction with a clock tower on top donated by R. A. Jones. It was demolished as the tram service was expanded, the area was given the nickname "Cobweb Corner" as the large number of overhead power cables coming together made for a giant cobweb effect.

R. A. Jones Clock (1) The R. A. Jones Clock is a bit of a Southend landmark but the current one is not the original. The original clock was much more box like with a conical top that was topped off with a ball. R. A. Jones Clock (2) The R. A. Jones clock most people know was the second one that replaced the original. The replacement clock is much thinner and only has two clock faces the third was replaced by a barometer.

Garons Clock The Garons Clock was situated at the top of the High Street, it was demolished to make way for the Hammerson Development now known as The Victoria Shopping Centre/Plaza.

Young & Martens Clock Young and Martens were local builders and merchants based in Southchurch Road, the clock was removed soon after the firm moved in 1975.

Old Pier Head Clock When the iron pier was first built the original Pier Head included a small clock tower just visible in this photo, the 1890 structure was demolished several years later.

Pier Pavilion Clock The grand shore end pavilion had a clock located in the centre of its roof, the entire building was demolished after being badly damaged by a fire on 7th October 1959.

Keddies Clock Not many people remember the fact Keddies had a clock on the front of their store on Southend High Street it went up around 1934 when the store gained its elegant columns and leaded windows reproducing the frontage of that of Selfridges flagship store in London’s Oxford Street, it was removed when the frontage was modernised with a slatted wooden frontage to match the office block above in 1960.

Prittlewell Square Gardens Clock Another R. A. Jones clock sits at the Cliffton Terrace entrance to Prittlewell Square gardens, the clock is situated on an ornate entrance way.

University Campus Clock The unusual three face clock is part of the University of Essex Southend Campus. It is on what is known as the "lego Building" or the Tetris Building" or the "Marmite Building". The clock has three faces one for Hours, one for the Minutes and the last showing the Seconds.

Santander Clock What was once the Abbey National or more commonly know as "The Abbey" is now part of the huge Santander group. The building that originally occupied the site was demolished in the early 1990s and replaced with a new bank, what a lot of people failed to notice was the addition of a clock.

Civic Centre Clock The TRUE Civic Clock is located on the Civic Centre in Victoria Avenue. The Civic Clock was unveiled on Tuesday 24th March 1979, it had been long called for by the retiring Town Clerk Mr Archie Glenn, who had been kept in the dark about it's ordering and installation, on the day he retired it struck out.

Cliffs Pavilion Clock The Cliffs Pavilion opened on 4th July 1964, at a grand cost of £400,000. Originally it did not feature a clock.

Southend Bowling Club Clock Founded in 1909 the club originally played at a site on Victoria Avenue, when the land was bought by the Council to widen the road, the club moved to it's current Tonbridge Road home in 1968.

London Road Retail Park Clock The London Road Retail park was built on the site of the old Southend Corporation Transport depot, over the years the transport depot was home to trams, trolleybuses and normal buses, later the service was privatised, and the depot relocated to Short Street. The old London Road site was demolished to create a new two unit retail building, the retail park includes an earlier Texas/Homebase DIY store. On the end of the new building that faces London Road is a public clock. Unit 1 (previously built) Texas Sainsbury's Homebase Homebase Unit 2 (replaced bus depot) Currys/PC World Unit 3 (replaced bus depot) (Clock on this wall) Topps Tiles Right Price Tiles Pets Smart Pets At Home

Adventure Island Clock Located on the roof of Adventure Island's Pavilion Fish & Chip Emporium, the clock is a four faced clock tower on top of the red and white roof. The Pavilion once held the World Record for the largest portion of chips ever served, with a portion weighing in at a whopping 448kg, it took four hours to peel, chop and cook the chips!

1992 Southend Borough Centenary

2006 Southend United Centenary