11 Apr 2026
It’s time to get your climbing boots on and brave the 93 steps to the top of St Albans’ iconic Clock Tower.
The medieval landmark was officially opened on Good Friday by St Albans Mayor Cllr Teresa Heritage, joined by volunteers from St Albans and Hertfordshire Architectural and Archaeological Society (SAHAAS) and St Albans Civic Society, who keep it open to the public each year.
Built in 1405, the Clock Tower is now the only surviving medieval town belfry in England, and over the centuries has been a shop and a government telegraph station during the Napoleonic wars.
Gabriel, the Tower’s original one ton bell, remains in place, and in past times would have sounded the Angelus and the evening Curfew. It would have also rung out an alarm in case of “fire or fray”, such as at the First Battle of St Albans in 1455.
The present clock dates from 1866, and uses a mechanism invented by Lord Grimthorpe, who not only controversially restored the Cathedral during the Victorian era but also designed the mechanism used by the clock for Big Ben at Westminster.
After falling into a state of disrepair in the middle 19th century, a proposal was made to demolish the entire Clock Tower in 1863, which was thankfully fought off by a campaign initiated by thes Civic Society, SAHAAS, and a fledgling Herts Advertiser. The restoration work cost £1,000 and was completed in 1866.
On a clear day, from the top of the Tower’s 64ft parapet you can see as far as the M25, Dunstable Downs, Gorhambury and Luton Airport, as well as spectacular views over the city centre itself.
The Tower, which is designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument, will now be open every weekend and Bank Holiday until the end of September.
Drone and opening event photos by Andy Lawrence
Views from top of Clock Tower by Matt Adams
