Eastgate Clock

Standing above the East gate of the ancient walls of Chester is a turret clock, known as Eastgate Clock. The clock tower was built in 1899 to celebrate the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria and is now recognised as the second most photographed clock in England, after Big Ben. The gateway was built in 1768 but its surrounding walls date back to Roman times.

As part of Cheshire West and Chester Council’s plan to create a greener, fairer and stronger community, it decided to illuminate this historic site for a more vibrant public space. During the first lockdown of March 2020, they had contacted us to configure and reprogramme the illumination of Newgate Bridge, Chester. Thanks to the success of this project, the solutions we offered and after some internal discussion, the council entrusted us to light up Eastgate Clock. We were tasked as both design consultants, control suppliers and solution providers. 
 

Smart architectural lighting to enhance heritage landmark

The design brief for the project specified a Control Management System (CMS) that would enable the local authorities to manage the illumination of Eastgate Clock and other architectural lighting schemes in the city so that all the floodlights are managed by one single system. It was important that they could:

• highlight the intricate details of the clock’s façade;
• easily adapt the light for different events taking place;
• enhance the charm of the city centre to increase footfall. 

The control system would support the city’s journey to a smart city. The local authorities organised a series of night trials to test different lighting solutions, suggest alternatives and consider all possible scenarios.
 

Schréder technology takes the smart LED

Thanks to our experienced team of experts, we were able to demonstrate our highly flexible and easy-to-use Control Management System (CMS) and its connectivity which met all of the customer's criteria.