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The Snodland Clocktower
May. 19th, 2021 10:39 amI've long wanted to visit Snodland- if only for the name. It's a small town to the south of Rochester with a history of cement and paper making.
We drove around, getting our bearings and found ourselves driving away from the High Street towards a slender Italianate tower.
"It can't be the town hall," I said, "because it's too far from the centre of town, so I reckon it must be the railway station..."
But when we reached it we found it was just a clock tower- freestanding- with modern housing nestled around it.
Odd.
A plaque on the front says it was erected in 1877 in memory of Charles Townsend Hook by his mother and sisters...
I've been digging around this morning and the facts seem to be these:
Charles Townsend Hook was the owner of Snodland's paper mill. He died in his 40s. The family were Swedenborgians- and gifted Snodland with a large Swedenborgian church (there can't be many of those in small English provincial towns) which remained in use until 1988 and is now a private house.
The clocktower was originally built adjacent to a school (The Townsend Hook school, wouldn't you know)- which became a film studios, then a glass blowing factory. The school complex was demolished in 1998 but the clocktower retained- with the new owners erecting social housing around it. It is arguably the town's most distinctive building- and is obviously well cared for. Its clock even tells the right time- give or take a minute or two...
We drove around, getting our bearings and found ourselves driving away from the High Street towards a slender Italianate tower.
"It can't be the town hall," I said, "because it's too far from the centre of town, so I reckon it must be the railway station..."
But when we reached it we found it was just a clock tower- freestanding- with modern housing nestled around it.
Odd.
A plaque on the front says it was erected in 1877 in memory of Charles Townsend Hook by his mother and sisters...
I've been digging around this morning and the facts seem to be these:
Charles Townsend Hook was the owner of Snodland's paper mill. He died in his 40s. The family were Swedenborgians- and gifted Snodland with a large Swedenborgian church (there can't be many of those in small English provincial towns) which remained in use until 1988 and is now a private house.
The clocktower was originally built adjacent to a school (The Townsend Hook school, wouldn't you know)- which became a film studios, then a glass blowing factory. The school complex was demolished in 1998 but the clocktower retained- with the new owners erecting social housing around it. It is arguably the town's most distinctive building- and is obviously well cared for. Its clock even tells the right time- give or take a minute or two...
