Plaque unveiled to celebrate restoration of Cleethorpes Clock Tower

A plaque has been unveiled at Cleethorpes station to celebrate the completion of a £410,000 restoration project of the clock tower.

Network Rail worked with the Railway Heritage Trust (RHT), as well as TransPennine Express and Colt to restore the clock tower and protect the heritage of the Grade II listed landmark.

The work involved completely taking down the deteriorated timber clock tower, then refurbishing it with new materials off-site, before reassembling it back at Cleethorpes station. The clock mechanism and faces have also been restored, and the clock tower has an improved with new decorations.

Following the upgrade of Cleethorpes Clock Tower, Network Rail has been recognised with a Railway Heritage Award for craft skills.

Alex Derevonko, Asset Engineer for Network Rail, said: “We are delighted to complete this work to allow the reinstatement of a working heritage station clock.

“Cleethorpes Clock Tower is in such a prominent position, and the hard work to restore it can now be appreciated by passengers, anyone using the station and people visiting the seaside town.

“We’re also very proud to receive the National Railway Heritage Award. The project will hopefully ensure the longevity of the clock tower for another 120 years.”

Dan Fox, TransPennine Express’ Group Station Manager in the region, said: “The clock tower at Cleethorpes station is an iconic part of this seafront landscape and it’s wonderful to see it restored to such a wonderful condition.

“All those involved have left a real gift for future generations to enjoy as much as the previous ones have.”

Andy Savage, Executive Director of the Railway Heritage Trust, said: “The RHT was happy to invest £50,000 in restoring the iconic Cleethorpes station clock tower, and we are delighted with the finished job, which looks so much improved on what it was.

“It was a particular pleasure to see that the work has won the 2018 Craft Skills National Railway Heritage Award, a worthy tribute. Our congratulations to all involved.”

Theo Steel, Chairman of the National Railway Heritage Awards, said: “This was a complex project which needed a great amount of craftsmanship to restore a very rotten timber structure back to its original state.  It fully justifies the Craft Award.”

Photo credits: Network Rail

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