Haymarket War Memorial

[Midloth_Iain]

From E.E.N.

 

http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/latestnews/Standin-Hearts-war-memorial-to.4481188.jp

 

A Temporary version of the famous Hearts war memorial is to be built when the historic monument is moved for the trams.

 

A new stone will be laid in the gardens at Coates Crescent next year when the existing memorial is put into storage as part of works to transform the busy Haymarket junction.

 

The new stone is likely to be around three or four feet high and would feature a plaque or carving, depending on the type of material chosen.

 

The Heart of Midlothian War Memorial was built by the Gorgie club in 1922 to remember the team's footballers who had signed up to fight in the Great War.

 

Although this year's annual memorial service will go ahead as normal, the 86-year-old monument will have to be relocated from Haymarket junction to accommodate the tram line.

 

A new position in front of a revamped Haymarket Station is still considered the most likely option, but this has still to be finalised.

 

One of the big issues for the council in finding a permanent home for the memorial is finding a location which can accommodate the large crowd which gathers for the annual remembrance service.

 

Dorothy Marsh, a senior conservation officer with Edinburgh City Council, said: "Most sides seem quite happy with the Coates Crescent proposal. It certainly has its advantages in terms of location, both because it is close to Haymarket and because it can handle the crowds in a safer environment.

 

"The temporary memorial will be quite a simple affair. Ideally we will find a good piece of Scottish stone for the new memorial because the existing memorial is in fact made of English stone, though obviously it is only going to be a temporary structure so we don't want to spend too much."

 

Hearts were the first team to enlist in the Great War when their whole side joined up. In total, 30 players served in the army, and they were followed by other Scottish teams, including Hibs.

 

Alex Knight, club archivist for Hearts, said: "Preferably you would have the memorial in around the same sort of area because Haymarket is its home, but Coates Crescent is definitely a reasonable short-term solution."

 

City centre councillor Charles Dundas said: "My initial thoughts are that Coates Crescent is not a million miles away from Haymakret. It is a nice setting."

[oh ah grantona]

get it to the new stand i think or at least dedicate a lounge or something to them

[werwolf]

get it to the new stand i think or at least dedicate a lounge or something to them

 

Outside the new stand is the best location.

Many people including myself are unhappy about this act of council vandalism so in order to limit the bad feeling this will cause perhaps this can be used to urge the council to hurry up with the planning application.

[smithy]

my feelings is that this has to be at Haymarket. why move it for the trams, the cooncil are taking the easy option.

 

Either outside the new haymarket trainstation or around the area for me.

[Boris]

I'd say keep it at Haymarket. Haymarket wouldn't be Haymarket if the Memorial wasn't there.

 

It's very public, whereas sticking it behind any new main stand would hide it (based on artists impressions of the new stand) from view. I like the fact that anyone getting of a train at Haymarket will see it as soon as the come out of the station.

[Hearts Heritage]

get it to the new stand i think or at least dedicate a lounge or something to them

 

NO NO AND NO

The memorial must remain in a prominent place where it can be seen by all travelling west through the city. Moving it to Tynecastle will diminish it?s visibility amongst the non football attending people. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

[Coco]

I hope that this is not the thin end of the wedge.

 

You know - in 5 or 6 years time when the tram line is eventually completed - that now that the Memorial service is 'established' in another location why move it sort of thing.

 

Personally I think that putting a referendum question to the Edinburgh public as to whether they want a tram line or not would still be a more sensible suggestion ...

[Francis Albert]

NO NO AND NO

The memorial must remain in a prominent place where it can be seen by all travelling west through the city. Moving it to Tynecastle will diminish it?s visibility amongst the non football attending people. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 

Agreed. I am not clear why the memorial can't be moved temporarily to somewhere in the Haymarket vicinity rather than being moved into storage then out of it a few years later. As for the nonsense about the difficulty of accomodating the crowds who attend the memorial service - it is a couple of hours of disruption to one city intersection on a Sunday morning once a year. Large parts of the city centre and beyond are being disrupted for about FOUR YEARS to accomodate the tram system. And of course there are the festival parades, the New Year processions, the Marathon.

[Teuchterjambo]

I'd say keep it at Haymarket. Haymarket wouldn't be Haymarket if the Memorial wasn't there.

 

It's very public, whereas sticking it behind any new main stand would hide it (based on artists impressions of the new stand) from view. I like the fact that anyone getting of a train at Haymarket will see it as soon as the come out of the station.

 

Good reasoning - the Haymarket gives the exposure to the wider public and that helps to perpetuate the memory of these brave men for generations to come. They have been remembered there for the best part of 100 years and that in itself is now part of the history.

[PTBCAL]

I say it should be moved to Easter Road.

 

Show them that 'Heart of Midlothian' is more than just a football club.

[flecktimus]

I'd say keep it at Haymarket. Haymarket wouldn't be Haymarket if the Memorial wasn't there.

 

It's very public, whereas sticking it behind any new main stand would hide it (based on artists impressions of the new stand) from view. I like the fact that anyone getting of a train at Haymarket will see it as soon as the come out of the station.

 

I agree

[FORTHCLYDE]

I read months ago the Council wanted it moved this is just a con as others have stated. If they find another spot they will move it away.

A spot at Haymarket must be found. And why mention English stone was used, I think that is offensive. Scots and English fought alongside each other.

Who cares what stone was used.

I hope when everyone has to pay thousands in council tax the councillors who voted for the trams are hung at the old 'Heart of Midlothian' in the High Street.

[Colonel Kurtz]

The current postion of the war memorial is however not the original site,It has aleady been moved to accomodate a previous Labour led transport foly from the cooncil

[Craigieboy]

I'd say keep it at Haymarket. Haymarket wouldn't be Haymarket if the Memorial wasn't there.

 

It's very public, whereas sticking it behind any new main stand would hide it (based on artists impressions of the new stand) from view. I like the fact that anyone getting of a train at Haymarket will see it as soon as the come out of the station.

 

Spot on mate.

 

My thoughts exactly.

 

.

[Coco]

I read months ago the Council wanted it moved this is just a con as others have stated. If they find another spot they will move it away.

A spot at Haymarket must be found. And why mention English stone was used, I think that is offensive. Scots and English fought alongside each other.

Who cares what stone was used.

I hope when everyone has to pay thousands in council tax the councillors who voted for the trams are hung at the old 'Heart of Midlothian' in the High Street.

 

Well said.

[Prince Buaben]

It has to be at the Haymarket!!

 

Putting it at Tynecastle behind the main stand may stop people who are not Hearts fans attending.

[topcat]

NO NO AND NO

The memorial must remain in a prominent place where it can be seen by all travelling west through the city. Moving it to Tynecastle will diminish it?s visibility amongst the non football attending people. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 

And more to the point, while it's primarily Hearts' Monument it's not exclusively ours. As well as the 1914-15 Hearts side it commemorates the sacrifice of many other sportsmen from East Central Scotland Including football players from Hibernian, Falkirk and Raith who answered the call.

 

To move it onto McLeod Street would be to signify that it was solely a Hearts memorial and by implication that those other men had been forgotten which defeats the point of a memorial.

 

It should be at our end of town because Hearts losses were greatest but it shouldn't be on our doorstep.

 

Coates Crescent seems like an odd choice for a temporary location when there is a far more obvious gap across the road in Atholl Crescent

[ando]

Heart Of Midlothian War Memorial should remain at Haymarket for all to see and to remember the proudest moments of our proud club

[Gibbo]

The original plaque on the Haymarket War Memorial says:

 

ERECTED BY/ THE HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN/ FOOTBALL CLUB/ TO THE MEMORY OF/ THEIR PLAYERS AND MEMBERS/ WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914-1919

 

A second plaque was added after WWII, which reads:

 

IN HONOURED MEMORY OF/ THE PLAYERS AND MEMBERS/ OF THE/ HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN/ FOOTBALL CLUB/ WHO LOST THEIR LIVES/ IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR/ 1939 - 1945

 

This memorial is a Heart of Midlothian memorial, not a McCrae's Battalion one. Not all the Hearts players who died were in McCrae's. Equally, the Contalmaison Cairn is a McCrae's Battalion memorial, not a Hearts one.

 

The source for the inscriptions is this register of War Memorials. It's on Channel 4's website because they broadcast a series presented by Ian Hislop on remembrance of WWI.

 

There should be a memorial to McCrae's Battalion in Edinburgh more prominent than the only current one, a plaque in St. Giles, but a new one should be built rather than the purpose of an existing one changed from the original intention of those who subscribed for its construction.

 

Regardless of the above, the memorial should stay in its prominent position at Haymarket as that's where it was located by the organisers of the public appeal that financed it.

[speedbump]

[jamboron]

I`m with Werwolf on this matter, use it as a leverage against the council for getting planning permission for the new stand contrary to the Hobonomics of some posters on this board.:107years:

[Charlie-Brown]

[Charlie-Brown]

The original location

 

http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/1_edin_t/1_edinburgh_transport_trams_haymarket.htm

[tel]

I think it's time some people on here got their facts right, it was erected at the request of Heart Of Midlothian for our players, not for others , not for the self indulgent who have tried to turn it into something it was not meant to be

[tel]

At last a Jambo who knows what he is talking about 100% correct in everything you say

[tel]

The original plaque on the Haymarket War Memorial says:

 

ERECTED BY/ THE HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN/ FOOTBALL CLUB/ TO THE MEMORY OF/ THEIR PLAYERS AND MEMBERS/ WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914-1919

 

A second plaque was added after WWII, which reads:

 

IN HONOURED MEMORY OF/ THE PLAYERS AND MEMBERS/ OF THE/ HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN/ FOOTBALL CLUB/ WHO LOST THEIR LIVES/ IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR/ 1939 - 1945

 

This memorial is a Heart of Midlothian memorial, not a McCrae's Battalion one. Not all the Hearts players who died were in McCrae's. Equally, the Contalmaison Cairn is a McCrae's Battalion memorial, not a Hearts one.

 

The source for the inscriptions is this register of War Memorials. It's on Channel 4's website because they broadcast a series presented by Ian Hislop on remembrance of WWI.

 

There should be a memorial to McCrae's Battalion in Edinburgh more prominent than the only current one, a plaque in St. Giles, but a new one should be built rather than the purpose of an existing one changed from the original intention of those who subscribed for its construction.

 

Regardless of the above, the memorial should stay in its prominent position at Haymarket as that's where it was located by the organisers of the public appeal that financed it.

 

At last someone who knows what he is talking about 100% accurate

[gashauskis9]

I say it should be moved to Easter Road.

 

Show them that 'Heart of Midlothian' is more than just a football club.

 

Bit harsh mate. IMO, the memorial signifies not only our loss during that war, but the sacrifice made by players, offcials and fans from the football community in general. Hibs lost a few as well.

[Therapist]

The original plaque on the Haymarket War Memorial says:

 

ERECTED BY/ THE HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN/ FOOTBALL CLUB/ TO THE MEMORY OF/ THEIR PLAYERS AND MEMBERS/ WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914-1919

 

A second plaque was added after WWII, which reads:

 

IN HONOURED MEMORY OF/ THE PLAYERS AND MEMBERS/ OF THE/ HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN/ FOOTBALL CLUB/ WHO LOST THEIR LIVES/ IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR/ 1939 - 1945

 

This memorial is a Heart of Midlothian memorial, not a McCrae's Battalion one. Not all the Hearts players who died were in McCrae's. Equally, the Contalmaison Cairn is a McCrae's Battalion memorial, not a Hearts one.

 

The source for the inscriptions is this register of War Memorials. It's on Channel 4's website because they broadcast a series presented by Ian Hislop on remembrance of WWI.

 

There should be a memorial to McCrae's Battalion in Edinburgh more prominent than the only current one, a plaque in St. Giles, but a new one should be built rather than the purpose of an existing one changed from the original intention of those who subscribed for its construction.

 

Regardless of the above, the memorial should stay in its prominent position at Haymarket as that's where it was located by the organisers of the public appeal that financed it.

 

Well said. I find it really annoying and disturbing when people try to rewrite history, not least because in this case it dilutes the real reason why the memorial was originally built.

[LizzyHearts2]

I live in Haymarket and i find it a total disgrace that they want to move the clock. It should not be moved for the same reason as Coco has mentioned earlier. On the topic of the trams.....i am rather annoyed...in fact, raging at all this upheaval and for what!.....2 days in a row i have been late for work due to the upheaval at Haymarket and at Sighthill....gimme the head of the eejits that decided on this crazy whim!!!

[Guest jambomickey]

I live in Haymarket and i find it a total disgrace that they want to move the clock. It should not be moved for the same reason as Coco has mentioned earlier. On the topic of the trams.....i am rather annoyed...in fact, raging at all this upheaval and for what!.....2 days in a row i have been late for work due to the upheaval at Haymarket and at Sighthill....gimme the head of the eejits that decided on this crazy whim!!!

 

agree with everything you've said

[MacDonald Jardine]

Bit harsh mate. IMO, the memorial signifies not only our loss during that war, but the sacrifice made by players, offcials and fans from the football community in general. Hibs lost a few as well.

 

No it doesn't.

The Contalmaison Cairn does, but the Haymarket memorial is to commemorate people connected to HMFC.

That is despite the efforts of people like Jack Alexander to convince folk otherwise.

[Deevers]

Well said. I find it really annoying and disturbing when people try to rewrite history, not least because in this case it dilutes the real reason why the memorial was originally built.

 

You'll find plenty on here who enjoy re-writing history and altering facts to suit their own agendas - as Kipling said :

 

"If your can bear to hear the truth you've spoken, twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools".

 

The memorial at Haymarket IS whether the revisionist like it or not a memorial to people connected to Hearts who paid the ultimate price in war. My old Grandad would be spinning in his grave if he thought it was being marketed as something else.

[JamboJay]

According to the images supplied by NMH they are going to return the memorial back to its original position, don't know what the fuss is, unless you don't believe they will return it just outside Ryries.

 

ISTR it was moved to make way for the traffic improvements which included the one way loop via Torphichen Street, so the're doing is reverting it back, plus I'm sure Ryries would not mind supplying some electricity to power a P A system for Remembrance Sunday.

[Rudolf's Mate]

I think some are going off on a different tangent here....

 

Agreed it shouldn't be moved from Haymarket however someone has posted the original site, which looks pretty much in front of the station and someone else has posted where it's intended after the trams are put in & I have to say that it looks almost exactly where it was orginally erected all those years ago.

 

If that is where they intend to put it once complete then it looks like it's going home and I for one would be happy with that. And this is coming from someone who lived most of my life at 61 Dalry Road (top floor) & was proud to see it from my window every day.

[Francis Albert]

That is despite the efforts of people like Jack Alexander to convince folk otherwise.

 

A bit unfair. Jack Alexander has often and very clearly distinguished between Contalmaison which is NOT a Hearts memorial and Haymarket which certainly is.

 

The confusion may arise because other clubs have been represented at the Haymarket remembrance ceremony and wreaths from other clubs and supporters of other clubs have been laid there. That seems fine to me and does not detract from the fact that it is a Hearts memorial.

 

Having said that in a sense all such memorials remind us of the huge general human sacrifice, as they should.

[Deevers]

Don't worry - in a few years time, when we've realised what a white elephant the "trams" are, I'm quite sure that it will be moved yet again.

[davemclaren]

Don't worry - in a few years time, when we've realised what a white elephant the "trams" are, I'm quite sure that it will be moved yet again.

 

They may be a white elephant but I can' see them being removed for a long time once they are up and running.

[Deevers]

They may be a white elephant but I can' see them being removed for a long time once they are up and running.

 

Ah Dave, if only it was a real trams system, unforunately this is really just a light railway being driven through the centre of Edinburgh. I'm old enough to remember being on real trams, and can remember hanging over the garden gate in Stenhouse Road watching the tram rails being removed circa 1955/56.

The old legend was that Hearts would never win the Scottish Cup until the trams rails were removed from Gorgie Road - both happenned in 1956!!

[topcat]

The original plaque on the Haymarket War Memorial says:

 

ERECTED BY/ THE HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN/ FOOTBALL CLUB/ TO THE MEMORY OF/ THEIR PLAYERS AND MEMBERS/ WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914-1919

 

A second plaque was added after WWII, which reads:

 

IN HONOURED MEMORY OF/ THE PLAYERS AND MEMBERS/ OF THE/ HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN/ FOOTBALL CLUB/ WHO LOST THEIR LIVES/ IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR/ 1939 - 1945

 

This memorial is a Heart of Midlothian memorial, not a McCrae's Battalion one. Not all the Hearts players who died were in McCrae's. Equally, the Contalmaison Cairn is a McCrae's Battalion memorial, not a Hearts one.

 

The source for the inscriptions is this register of War Memorials. It's on Channel 4's website because they broadcast a series presented by Ian Hislop on remembrance of WWI.

 

There should be a memorial to McCrae's Battalion in Edinburgh more prominent than the only current one, a plaque in St. Giles, but a new one should be built rather than the purpose of an existing one changed from the original intention of those who subscribed for its construction.

 

Regardless of the above, the memorial should stay in its prominent position at Haymarket as that's where it was located by the organisers of the public appeal that financed it.

 

I stand corrected.

 

My assumptions were based on the way that the memorial service where mention is always made of the other fallen as well.

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

While it is undoubtedly a Hearts memorial, I think the extension of the service to have wreaths laid by other clubs in the manner that occurred in the years up to the sixties and seventies is a fantastic development.

 

For me, the clock has always symbolised the entrance to Hearts territory (Gorgie/Dalry) and also the entrance to the city centre (West End). A landmark this prominent should not be treated in this shabby way by the council. Especially since the trams will be a complete disaster.

 

When I'm back next year for a game it will be disturbing not to see the clock in its prime position.

[Charlie-Brown]

The proposed new position in front of Ryries bar is in fact within a few yards of it's originally erected position.......it was later moved to sit just outside the Haymarket bar, it's current position.

[Francis Albert]

The proposed new position in front of Ryries bar is in fact within a few yards of it's originally erected position.......it was later moved to sit just outside the Haymarket bar, it's current position.

 

It is the "most likely option but still to be finalised" bit that is concerning together with references to the difficulty of finding a location that can "safely" accommodate large numbers attending the remembrance service, and that Coates Crescent is supposedly a better in that regard. Also the throwaway remark that is only English stone and not good Scottish stone like its temporary replacement (what's that about?)

 

Quite enough to ring an alarm bell or two and many, many long running conspiracy theories on JKB have been built on less.

[Coco]

It is the "most likely option but still to be finalised" bit that is concerning together with references to the difficulty of finding a location that can "safely" accommodate large numbers attending the remembrance service, and that Coates Crescent is supposedly a better in that regard. Also the throwaway remark that is only English stone and not good Scottish stone like its temporary replacement (what's that about?)

 

Quite enough to ring an alarm bell or two and many, many long running conspiracy theories on JKB have been built on less.

 

The tram line is the important thing.

 

There is no danger that TIE/the Council will let anything as irrelevant to them as a Hearts War Memorial impede the tram line or the various Haymarket developments being crowbarred through in order to pay for the line. Thin end of the wedge, this move I think.

[jambo in iraq]

get it to the new stand i think or at least dedicate a lounge or something to them

 

dedicate a lounge to them?????!

 

Name the whole stand after them more like..

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

The tram line is the important thing.

 

There is no danger that TIE/the Council will let anything as irrelevant to them as a Hearts War Memorial impede the tram line or the various Haymarket developments being crowbarred through in order to pay for the line. Thin end of the wedge, this move I think.

 

Quite so, especially when they have the audacity to ask HMFC to contribute to the folly as well.

[Midloth_Iain]

It is the "most likely option but still to be finalised" bit that is concerning together with references to the difficulty of finding a location that can "safely" accommodate large numbers attending the remembrance service, and that Coates Crescent is supposedly a better in that regard. Also the throwaway remark that is only English stone and not good Scottish stone like its temporary replacement (what's that about?)

 

Quite enough to ring an alarm bell or two and many, many long running conspiracy theories on JKB have been built on less.

 

Yes, hopefully just naive, spur of the moment comments by someone who should know better. Covering her own a*se so that when a decision is made she didnt commit herself to looking foolish.

 

Original Haymarket position shouldnt affect the tramlines, although knowing TIE, they will probably find a way to mess up the intended route.

[BigC]

The tram line is the important thing.

 

There is no danger that TIE/the Council will let anything as irrelevant to them as a Hearts War Memorial impede the tram line or the various Haymarket developments being crowbarred through in order to pay for the line. Thin end of the wedge, this move I think.

 

If the council did not accomodate us there would be hell to pay. I'm talking "Save Our Hearts" style and size protests against the council. Possibly even bigger.

 

What gets me is that it seems that it has been agreed that the clock will be moved before a new site has been finalised.

 

I don't mind the clock going into storage. I quite like the proposed location outside Ryries, but I don't want us to be open to the possibility of them putting it into storage and then saying, "you can't have it at Haymarket, find somewhere else for it".

 

I hope Hearts are putting pressure on the council guarantee a new site before they give permission for the clock to be moved.

[Charlie-Brown]

Does anyone know the history of why the Memorial was located at Haymarket in the first place?

[Jack Alexander]

No it doesn't.

The Contalmaison Cairn does, but the Haymarket memorial is to commemorate people connected to HMFC.

That is despite the efforts of people like Jack Alexander to convince folk otherwise.

 

I take the gravest exception to this statement. I need no lessons in the history of the Memorial from the likes of MJ.

 

On behalf of McCrae's Battalion Trust I have attended several meetings in which the future of the clocktower was discussed. On each occasion I've had to emphasise that the structure was built to commemorate the sacrifice of players, members and supporters of Heart of Midlothian F.C. In the decades since the Memorial was built, however, the significance of the structure has become more complex. It has become an Edinburgh landmark, unique in the world - a thing to be treated with the greatest of care.

 

Many football clubs in the UK lost players and supporters in the Great War. What made Heart of Midlothian special was the formation of the 16th Royal Scots and the almost complete destruction of that fine battalion on one dreadful morning on the Somme. The story of the clocktower and the story of the 16th are therefore indivisible. If planners and officials become confused by this, we need (at least) to show them some understanding.

 

Following the dedication of the clocktower, annual services of Remembrance were attended by representatives of many different clubs - including Celtic, Hibernian, Falkirk, Arsenal and Newcastle United. They came out of respect for the terrible losses borne by Heart of Midlothian - and out of respect for the battalion that Hearts were instrumental in raising.

 

One night last year (while drinking in Rose Street) I was accosted rather aggressively by a 'Jambo' (his word, btw) who took me to task for inviting someone from Hibs to lay a wreath on Remembrance Sunday. I think he felt that in some way the Memorial was 'tainted' by the gesture. I explained (though he was not for listening) that until the '70s Hibernian had loyally attended every ceremony. So, too, Celtic. If other clubs hold Heart of Midlothian in such high esteem that they are prepared to participate in this event (which, I repeat, is unique in the world), then I can only see that as a good thing - to be encouraged.

 

Last year the MB Trust organised almost every last detail of the ceremony. It was (numerous regulars told me) the best in 40 years. For the first time in those (almost) 40 years (at my behest), a representative of Heart of Midlothian actually took the key part in the programme. Steven Frail maintained his composure to read a moving letter written home by a member of McCrae's to his wife only minutes before he was killed on 1 July 1916.

 

I spent (near) decades of my own life trying to get a memorial to the 16th built on the Somme. In conjunction with my friends on the MB Trust (most of whom are Hearts supporters), I now find myself involved in consultations over the fate of the Haymarket War Memorial and in organising annual ceremonies of Remembrance there. It's truly remarkable how few Hearts supporters I've encountered in the course of these endeavours - in spite (repeatedly) of numerous invitations for folk to stand up and become involved.

 

In the light of the recent Evening News piece on the fate of the Memorial I've posted (separately) a short account of our most recent meeting with TIE. The official assertion that most parties support the Atholl Crescent proposal is inaccurate.

 

Incidentally at that meeting I also explained to the representative of the City Museums (who appears not to have been listening) that the reason English material was used in the construction of the clocktower is that the quarry (at Doddington in Northumberland) produced a rich, deep pink stone that closely resembled maroon.

[BigC]

Thanks for the update Jack.

 

What do you think the chances are of getting agreement on the new site before the clock is removed?

 

For me, that's the most important thing.