Travelling back in time for town’s new clock tower

It has a huge image on its frontage of Dunstable’s clock tower on the Square.

All this will give huge pleasure to Bill Stevens, the former Dunstable councillor, whose dearest wish was to create a landmark structure in Dunstable to mark the millennium.

His enthusiasm led to a fundraising committee being formed in May 1999 with the aim of raising £80,000 in breakneck time to pay for a clock tower on the Square, to be erected at the turn of the century.

The president of the committee was the owner of ACD Tridon, Dennis Keech.

Chairman was Eric Fountain, a former director of Vauxhall.

The committee was determined that the tower would have a traditional appearance, and this was provided by Frank Porthouse, of the Project Design Company of Dunstable.

The photograph shows workmen preparing the Market Cross base on the Square, ready for the momentous delivery one Saturday morning of the huge components of the clock tower, which was manufactured by the EDF company of Leighton Buzzard.

> Yesteryear is compiled by John Buckledee, chairman of Dunstable and District Local History Society.