Description

1861, with additions 1894. Octagonal-plan clock tower and public well with carved figure (see Notes). Dressed sandstone ashlar. Base course with square cut well head to E (street) elevation. Above well, copy of 1666 statue of wife of local stonemason James Gifford on decorated base, flanked by cast-iron lamps on scrolled brackets. Octagonal shaft corbelled out to squared upper clock-face stage with 2 circular clock faces to main street; 2 blank roundels to rear. Carved octagonal cap with weathervane finial at apex. Narrow timber access door to rear (W) elevation.

Statement of Interest

Prominently sited example of an ornamental Victorian stone clock tower and well on the site of an earlier market cross and public well. The earlier well dated to 1666 was gifted by celebrated local stonemason and laird James Gifford as a memorial to his wife and children, whose statues formally adorned the pedestal.

The cross was replaced in 1861 and heightened in 1894 to form a clock tower with good quality stonework and detailing and continued to incorporate the carved figure of Gifford's wife, which is dated 1666 on the skirt. The statue was removed as a conservative measure in 1996 and, in 2001, was replaced by a cast by Graciela Ainsworth Associates of Edinburgh. The original is now in the Graham Institute building in the lane behind the clock tower.

West Linton has a long-established tradition of stonecarving due to the supply of good quality local stone. Further examples of 17th century stonework by Gifford are at nearby Spitalhaugh and Paulswell (see separate listings). Other fragments of carved stones in West Linton likely to be by Gifford are described in more detail in the RCAHMS Inventory (see References).

List description updated at resurvey (2010).

Statutory address revised to correct spelling mistake in 2024. Previously listed as 'WEST LINTON, CLOCK TOWER AND PUBLIC BELL'.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17841862

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Cornwall (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)