TORQUAY - THE MALLOCK MEMORIAL

The Mallock Memorial is an ornate clock tower standing at the junctions of the Strand, Torwood Street and Victoria Parade in Torquay. It was completed in 1902 and transferred to the ownership of Torquay Corporation on Saturday March 7th 1903. The photograph below was taken in 1904 ; to the left of the tower are two of the "Chelmsford" steam buses of the Torquay and District Motor Omnibus Company.

The architect was John Donkin, a Londoner who came to live at Bournmouth. The sculptor was Harry Hems of Exeter and the memorial was erected by the local Torquay firm of Bovey and Son - both men being called Edward P. Bovey. Built of Bath stone, the tower has been showing signs of wear for some years. Attempts were made to halt the decay of the carvings in 1967 and again in 1984 but traffic fumes and salt in the air have certainly had an adverse effect on this memorial.

Its purpose was to commemorate the life and works of Richard Mallock who died suddenly in Scotland while on holiday in 1900. His family owned Cockington Village and lived at Cockington Court so he was very much a local figure. He represented Torquay in Parliament from 1886 to 1895 and was a magistrate for many years. The Memorial was paid for out of subscriptions raised from his constituents.