Clock tower in Marine Park, South Shields commemorating Henry Greathead d. 1816 and William Wouldhave d. 1821, inventors of the lifeboat
Location
Marine Park, South Shields, Tyne and Wear, England
Transcript
'GREATHEAD', 'WOULDHAVE', 'COURAGE, HUMANITY COMMERCE', 'Erected in commemoration of the jubilee of H.M. Queen Victoria, June 20th, 1887 and as a memorial to the beneficent work of the lifeboat as designed and built in South Shields in the year 1790'
Details
Description: On east and west sides, round portraits of Greathead and William Wouldhave within foliage, the arms of South Shields in strapwork surrounds below. On the north and south sides, reliefs of rowing lifeboats rescuing the crews of vessels in distress. The top storey has a four dial clock.
Type: Clock tower
Materials: Sandstone
Date Erected: 1890
Artists: J.S. Morton
Type: Clock tower
Materials: Sandstone
Date Erected: 1890
Artists: J.S. Morton
People
Greathead, Henry
Age:
Date of Death: 1816
Cause of Death: Unknown/None
Rank / Occupation: Boat builder
Organisation:
Wouldhave, William
Age: 70
Date of Death: 28/9/1821
Cause of Death: Unknown/None
Rank / Occupation: Inventor
Organisation:
Age:
Date of Death: 1816
Cause of Death: Unknown/None
Rank / Occupation: Boat builder
Organisation:
Wouldhave, William
Age: 70
Date of Death: 28/9/1821
Cause of Death: Unknown/None
Rank / Occupation: Inventor
Organisation:
Extra
Notes: Paid for by public subscription, the council paid for the clock. After fierce debate in the local paper concerning the rival claims of Wouldhave and Greathead to have invented the lifeboat, it was decided to commemorate both men. The tower was unveiled by Alderman Eltringham on the opening of the Marine Park 25 June 1890. A model and plans of the tower are in the collections of South Shields Museum.
Bibliography: George B. Hodgson 'The Borough of South Shields' (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1903) p. 437
Recorder: B. Tomlinson
Photographer: B. Tomlinson
Bibliography: George B. Hodgson 'The Borough of South Shields' (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1903) p. 437
Recorder: B. Tomlinson
Photographer: B. Tomlinson