Newport City

I was out of the house about 7.30am for a job and it was chucking it down which doesn't make it easy to take photo's. However, by mid afternoon the sun had come out, and with another call finishing in the city of Newport, I sought out the iconic landmark of The Civic Centre clock tower.

The building was designed by  architect Thomas Cecil Howitt after winning a national competition. The ceremonial first sod was cut on July 14, 1937 by King George V1 with the building finally open to the public in 1940. However, due to the war, work on the clock tower was suspended until 1963. On September 10 of that year the Corporation voted to complete the building of the clock tower at a cost of £126,900.

The Civic Centre building housed Newport Central Police Station which was the largest cell complex in the South East Wales area, and linked to the Crown Court. Back in the late 1980's I was a Custody Officer working underneath this clock tower so it holds memories for me. The Station closed in the late 1990's when it moved to a new building on the other side of the city centre.

The Blip picture shows the clock tower, part of the civic centre buildings, Newport railway station (silver dome to the left of the tower) and a view looking out over the city towards The Bristol Channel.