The Albert Memorial Clock

In 1865, there was a competition that took place. It was not an athletic competition, but a design competition.

In mid December 1861, there was a death in England. Someone who had great influence with Queen Victoria and the government that was developed over time. This person was the Prince Consort, Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria.

Prince Albert was born on the 26^th of August 1819, in Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. His family had connections to many of the European royal families. He was the second son of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. He and his older brother were well educated.

Albert’s uncle, Leopold, King of the Belgians, began to think about a marriage match with Victoria about 1836. Victoria was the heir presumptive for the British throne as her father had died when she was a baby and her uncle had no children. Her uncle, King William IV had no legitimate children. When the possible marriage was introduced to the king, he did not approve of it. He was more interested in the Prince of Orange. Victoria was aware of all the possible marriage matches that were floating around.

On the 20^th of Jun 1837, Victoria became the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. She showed interest in Albert’s education but did not allow anyone to push her into a marriage before she was ready to be married or a marriage that she did not want. When Victoria was ready, she proposed marriage to Albert, notified the government, and they were married on the 10^th of February 1840.

Albert was not well received as the Queen’s choice by either the people or the government. His allowance was £20,000 less than what was normally allocated. Albert did not have any authority with the government and had to develop his own niche in Victoria’s world. Albert chose to promote education, the abolishment of slavery, and economic reform. Albert also became Victoria’s secretary and sat in on meetings with representatives from the government, even filling in for Victoria when she was not available. Albert reorganized Victoria’s household, replacing servants that needed to be let go and bringing the household accounts into more accountability. Because of his training in finance, Albert was able to make real estate purchases and do major renovations for the family.

Albert and Victoria had nine children. Their education was supervised by Albert and they loved their father and knew that he loved them and needed them.

Albert developed an illness with his digestive system about two years before he died. Because medicine was not as advanced as what it is now, he was diagnosed with typhoid shortly before he died. Authoritative members of the medical field now believe that he may have had Crohn’s disease, renal failure, or abdominal cancer as the cause of death (according to Wikipedia). There are other articles available on the internet that also agree that Albert quite likely did not die from typhoid, and one article says that some modern medical authorities discount cancer.

Now, back to the memorial for Albert. In 1861, there was a competition held for a design for a memorial for Albert. This memorial would be located in Belfast. In 1862, the competition was won by W.J. Barre, an Irish architect who won the competition for Ulster Hall in 1861. Even though he won the competition, Barre was not awarded the contract but instead it was secretly awarded to Lanyon, Lynn, and Lanyon. When it became known that this had happened, the public were very upset and let it be known. Eventually, it was awarded to Barre.

It took four years, from 1865 to 1869, for the clock tower to be built. Because of the location for the memorial was land that was marshy and reclaimed from the River Farset, the memorial was built on wooden piles. The tower was made from sandstone and the ground was unable to support it properly. The tower developed a lean of about four feet off the perpendicular at the top.

In 1924, some ornamental work and a canopy had to be removed. In 1992, the clock was damaged in a bomb explosion. The area became a haven for prostitutes and their customers, primarily visiting sailors.

In 2002, a restoration project was completed. The area also had undergone a revitalization with modern public spaces sporting trees, fountains, and sculptures.

This memorial is quite impressive to see. It dominates the immediate area without taking away from it. It is surrounding by modern buildings and helps to bring remembrance of the past.