The clock in the tower was presented to the Maharajah of Travancore by the European missionary, Rev.

The clock tower was built at the centre place of Nagercoil, to commemorate the visit of Sri Moolam Thirunal, then ruler of Travancore, in 1893, and it was designed by Hogeorf and S. Horesly of England.

The pendulum of the clock was made in Derbyshire by Smith of Derby Group, London.

The clock is attached to a 60-foot-long chain with a weight, operated with pulleys through gravitational force.

As the Nagercoil Municipality grew wary repairing the clock every time it stood still, the clock tower is now legally under private care as per a contract with the Nagercoil Municipality since 2009.