[10] The Clock Tower was conceived within five years of the completion of Herne Bay's first pier of 1832, when the town was in the throes of its initial popularity and development.

[4][12][13] In 1836, possibly inspired by the success of the nearby pier and the grandeur of this image, Mrs Thwaytes requested the young architect Edwin James Dangerfield (1807–1879) of London and Herne Bay to draw a plan of a tower in the style of a Grecian temple with a clock at the top.

"[23] The building required deep foundations: "not solid but an elaborate series of arches and vaults," being built close to the sea on shingle and just west of the culverted outflow of Plenty Brook, hence the total estimated cost of £5,000.

At 11 am gentlemen inhabitants, subscribers and visitors joined a procession at the St George's Baths and walked with the local charity school children (beneficiaries of Mrs Thwaytes) to the site to present her with a silver trowel.

The ceremony was watched by invited ladies seated on a dais in a plantation decorated with flags, and enlivened by a military band.

On the Pier during the evening there was a Grand Illumination, a firework display, another tightrope performance, magic feats by Ching Lau Lauro, a model of the Clock Tower in fireworks, the Pier entrance illuminated by 30,000 variegated lamps, and a released balloon carrying Mrs Thwaytes' name in fire.

[28][29] An address of thanks to her was read by George Rohrs, secretary to the Clock Tower trustees who had been appointed by Mrs Thwaytes.

Mrs Thwaytes, accompanied by Simm Smith and wearing a blue satin crinoline, was conveyed along the very short distance from her residence to the Clock Tower in the first of a train of carriages containing trustees of the Clock Tower and other personages bearing wands and wearing blue rosettes.

[31] At the beginning and end of the ceremony a salute was fired from the four fog-warning cannon on the pier, and a free meal was provided for a hundred charity children, their parents, and the construction workers who built the Tower.

[24] Opening Day was also celebrated by villagers in Herne which was festooned with decorations following Mrs Thwaytes' distribution of money, food and goods.

[31] Celebrations on the anniversary of this opening ceremony and Mrs Thwaytes' birthday continued until at least 1839 when the gentry enjoyed a dinner, ball and concert.

[33] A plaque, dedicated to the 36 fallen Herne Bay volunteers of the Second Boer War, was affixed shortly after 1902 to the north side.

[3] The site has been vulnerable to erosion and flooding, but in the 1990s a sea defence called Neptune's Arm was built to protect this area from the effect of strong onshore winds at high tide.

[19] In 2009 a complaint to City of Canterbury Council about the Tower clock not working elicited a reply and a full repair within one month.

[38] In 2012, City of Canterbury Council initiated a £348,000 project and applied for Lottery funding to renovate the structure which had been eroded by salt water and gales.

The lottery bid required the creation of a Friends of Herne Bay Clock Tower group of volunteers to "educate, promote and conserve" on behalf of the building.

Together with the Friends of Herne Bay Clock Tower, they distributed this book as part of Key Stage 1 learning packs sent out to local schools.

In 2015, Canterbury Christ Church University graduate Sally Ann Chittenden of Milmino Studios, was commissioned to transform Tales From the Clock Tower into an animation.

[46] The film features many places around Herne Bay as the seagulls and their crab friend explore the history of this seaside town.

On 31 October 2015, Tales From the Clock Tower celebrated with a Halloween special, where the characters dance to The Monster Mash by the Groovy Goolies.

[citation needed] Note: Many of the online and published resources for the history of the Clock Tower are at least partially sourced from an unpublished work by the late Harold Gough, president of the Herne Bay Historical Records Society from 1992 to 2008, who was the first to research this subject.