Mercer Memorial Clock Tower opening, Great Harwood

Mercer Memorial Clock Tower opening, Great Harwood
Mercer Memorial Clock Tower opening, Great Harwood
Mercer Memorial Clock Tower opening, Great Harwood
275909
HGR20180516012
Mercer Memorial Clock Tower opening, Great Harwood
Great Harwood
John Mercer (1791-1866) J.P, F.R.S., F.S.C., a self taught chemist and inventor of "Mercerisation", spent more than half his life in Great Harwood, and the idea to erect a memorial to his memory quickly gained ground. The decision to build a clock tower was made by the Urban District Council. The site chosen was in the centre of the town square on land belonging to the town.
The opening ceremony took place on 20th June, 1903. The memorial was unveiled by His Worship the Mayor of Accrington (Alderman Thomas Broughton) and handed over to Councillor James Cran, M.D., J.P., Chairman of the Urban District Council, on behalf of the town. School children who had walked in procession to the town centre for the ceremony, re-formed and made their way to a field off Blackburn Road, where sports and sideshows were organised for their benefit.
Photographic print
Monochrome
1903
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