Pierhead clock given new site - St Mary Street, Cardiff, Wales.
N 51° 28.675 W 003° 10.668
30U E 487652 N 5702988
The Pierhead Clock began life in 1897 at the Pierhead Building in Cardiff Bay. Sold to a collector in America in the 1970s before returning to Wales for conversion into an artwork, on display since 2011 in St Mary street, Cardiff, Capitol of Wales.
Waymark Code: WMPEPE
Location: South Wales, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 08/19/2015
Views: 5
The Historic Pierhead Clock mechanism is the main feature of a street artwork in a glass tower in St Mary Street.
It began life in the Pierhead Building in Cardiff Bay in 1897 but was sold to a collector in America in the 1970s before returning to Wales in 2004.
A lectern style plaque has timeline history of the clock in English & Welsh along with some interesting local maritime history.
"The historic Pierhead clock that stood in Cardiff docks for nearly 80 years was unveiled on Tuesday November 8th, 2011, after being restored to its former glory by world renowned clockmakers, Smith of Derby. A special parade was held to mark the unveiling of the Pierhead Clock, which returned to Cardiff after an absence of nearly 40 years, including a Royal British Legion marching band.
The restoration of the 114-year-old clock was a special moment for the firm’s engineers as the original was made by Potts of Leeds, which is owned by Smith of Derby, when installed in the Welsh capital’s Pierhead building in 1897.
It was auctioned off by British Rail in 1973 and then sold on to an American collector, Alan Heldman, three years later. In 2004 he decided that the mechanism should be returned from Alabama to Cardiff, and having been restored, its unveiling will mark the completion of major city centre improvements in Cardiff.
A piece of art housing the clock mechanism has been created by the artist Marianne Forrest, and the clock will be surrounded by a metallic question mark, providing information about the history of the clock and the docks area. It also houses three replica monkeys, which will strike hourly chimes, which have local historical significance. The clock will stand in the spot where, in the late 18th Century, ships would have operated before Cardiff Docks were built.” Text Source: (
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The News story from BBC Wales:
"A historic clock based on Big Ben has been unveiled as part of Cardiff city centre's Castle Quarter renovation.
The Pierhead Clock mechanism is the main feature of a street artwork in a new glass tower in St Mary Street.
It began life in the Pierhead Building in Cardiff Bay in 1897 but was sold to a collector in America in the 1970s before returning in 2004 and restored.
It was unveiled on Tuesday following the completion of the pedestrianisation of the area.
The turret clock mechanism, which weighs approximately 1,000lb (454kg) and had to be wound manually once a week for the clock to keep time, is almost identical to the one which powers Big Ben in London.
The glass-sided new clock also features an artwork relating to the Marquis of Bute, who originally commissioned the Pierhead Building.
Three replica monkeys will strike hourly chimes.
The monkeys were designed by the marquis for one of the rooms of Cardiff Castle as a rebuttal of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution." Text Source" (
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