Who remembers when an impressive Memorial clock tower dominated Hastings Town Centre?

He writes: The Memorial was the symbolic heart of Hastings for over a century, but it was controversially (and probably unnecessarily) demolished following a small fire.

The Albert Memorial clocktower was built in the early 1860s in memory of Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert.

Work began on the tower – soon affectionately known as just ‘The Memorial’ - in the autumn of 1862, with the foundation stone laid by the mayor on 10 November. All building work was completed by 1863, and the clock installed in mid-1864. Funds were raised by local donations, despite a certain amount of opposition because Albert had been somewhat unpopular, being a German.

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The Memorial was 65 feet tall with a vane on top containing the letter “A”. The tower was 15 feet across at the base, and eight feet at the clock chamber. The entrance was an oak door on the west side, while opposite it on the east side was a large granite drinking basin. High up on the south side was a Portland stone statue of Prince Albert dressed in his Knight of the Garter robes, gazing out to sea down Harold Place.

The Memorial rapidly became both synonymous with the town centre and somehow symbolic of modern Hastings. It was sited at the very heart of Hastings, where eight roads converged, and where people often arranged to get together - “Meet you at the Memorial” was frequently said (and still is sometimes!).

By the 1930s all these roads and the town’s increasing population were bringing large amounts of traffic to the town centre, and in following decades several different experiments were made to relieve the congestion, using the Memorial as roundabout. In 1952 Hastings Council proposed for the first time that the Memorial should actually be demolished. But a Hastings Observer poll of local residents found that only 17 of 2,723 people surveyed wanted it removed. So the Memorial survived, and as traffic increased more traffic lights and crossings were installed.

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Then on 28 April 1973 there was a fire in the belfry at the top of the Memorial, followed by a smaller fire on 18 June while the belfry was being partly dismantled. Despite the limited extent of the damage and much public opposition, the Council decided on 11 October 1973 to demolish the Memorial rather than repair it. This began on 17 November and took two weeks.

Much of the rubble was used in a building job in Rock Lane, Ore, while Hastings Museum saved some artefacts, including the drinking basin. The statue of Prince Albert was rescued by a local resident, who bought it from the contractors for £50. It was then installed in a greenhouse in Alexandra Park and later moved to stand outside the side entrance to the town hall, where it is today.

In the early 1990s I helped Cllr Graeme White to launch a campaign to build a replica of the Memorial close to the original spot. But despite much public support, Graeme found there was little interest amongst most councillors and senior Council officers, and in the end all the Council did was attach two clocks to the north-east corner of the town hall. Both soon broke down and were removed, without being replaced.

The Memorial stood near where the pedestrian signpost is today, but not many people say “Meet you at the signpost.

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