This elegant clock tower is on the Waterford Quays, almost lost among car and bus traffic, car parks, and tourists.
It was designed by the Irish architect Charles Tarrant and built between 1854, when the construction began, and 1864, when the clock was installed. At that time Waterford had the busiest port in Ireland, and the clock tower soon became a distinctive landmark of the town.
It's a square tower with a tall spire. The two colours of the monument are given by the two stone types they used, limestone for most of the building, granite for the spire and the inserts.
On each gable of the spire there is a diamond-shaped panel with a clock in the centre.
At the base there are three trefoil-headed recesses cut in granite blocks and three stone basins on colonettes. At the foot of each colonette there's a carved animal figure set in a small frame. These basins were troughs for horses that were working or passing by the quay. For this reason the tower was also known as the Fountain Clock.
The corners of the tower have stepped buttresses to give the tower a more Gothic look.
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