the town. In the latter part of the 20th Century, the fountain was dismantled and rebuilt in nearby Victoria Square. The Tower was designed and built by Thomas Wolvey a former Royal Mason, and it is believed it was built as a protest against the power of St Albans Abbey. The belief is that the local merchants were in favour of the Tower being built, as it meant their hours would no longer be decided by those at the Abbey, who had a clock and peal of bells of their own. Prolific architect Sir Gilbert Scott would later state that he believed the initial purpose of the Clock Tower was as a free-standing bell tower, similar to other structures such as Giotto's Campanile in Florence. The location of the Tower was also part of this protest; the Clock Tower looks 'face to face' with the Abbey, but sits on higher ground. It is unknown if the Tower had a clock-face from its inception, however, it is known that there was one in place by 1485. During the Napoleonic Wars the Clock Tower's height was an advantage and the roof was used as a semaphore station. The shutter telegraph style semaphore was part of the 16 station London to Great Yarmouth line, along which a message could be sent within 5 minutes. The semaphore station itself was built atop a small wooden observation hut which was erected on the roof. The observation hut was removed in 1852. In 1858, the living quarters at the base of the Tower were destroyed, which in turn meant that the rest of tower fell into a state of disrepair. Five years later in 1863, a proposal was made to demolish the entire structure. A year later, Sir Gilbert Scott was commissioned to produce a report on the state of the Tower, and its estimated cost of restoration. Scott would state that the building could be restored at a cost of approximately £700. The final cost of the repairs, however, was £1000. The restoration was completed in 1866, with almost all of the external masonry work being renewed. Further features such as Gargoyles, new windows and a new clock mechanism were installed. Initial plans for a spire on top of the Tower did not come to fruition, instead, a capped turret was installed. Historically, the ground floor of the tower was used a shop, with the