Albert Clock, Barnstaple

The tower was paid for by public subscription with some of the money being raised for the provision of a drinking fountain.

[1][2] At its solemn dedication ceremony in 1862 surrounded by local dignitaries the clock's pendulum was set to swing at 11.00 p.m., the hour Prince Albert had died.

As Mayor Norrington, a teetotaller, stepped forward to take the first drink from the fountain a man threw a cupful of what was found to be gin into the water.

An investigation revealed that the mystery man was John Baker, the landlord of the Mermaid Inn and a local Tory councillor.

At the back of the recess is a panel of coloured tiles with a coat of arms in white marble above it.