It All Started with the Clock Tower

Before Tony Wood Hair — and even before Tony Wood himself — there was the clocktower.

If you’ve ever wandered down Castle Road and turned the corner where it meets Great Southsea Street, you’ll know the building I’m talking about. It’s the kind of place that makes you stop in your tracks and wonder, “What’s the story here?”

Well, here’s a little of it.

The Clocktower was designed by local architect J.W. Walmisley and built by Southsea contractor J. Crockerell, way back in 1903. Despite its old-world, mock-Tudor charm, it’s actually built on a solid steel frame — a modern marvel for its time. If you look closely at the eastern wall, you’ll see stone medallions with the year it was finished, along with a Latin motto carved into the stone: “ Ne cede malis sed contra” Which translates to: “Yield not to misfortunes but on the contrary meet them with fortitude.” (Pretty fitting for a building that’s been through so much.)

Just inside St. Edward’s Road, there's a faded bit of signwriting that gives a nod to the building’s very first tenant — Mr. Ernest Smith, a cabinet maker and upholsterer. Somehow, his name made it all the way around the clockface. No one’s quite sure how that happened, but it’s one of those quirks that adds to the mystery.

The clocktower was originally commissioned by Gales Brewery of Horndean, which explains its pub-like features — those large glass windows at the front were quite ahead of their time. Then in 1923, things took a turn: Ford Motor Company came along, removed those front windows, and started driving cars right inside. It became one of the first car showrooms on the south coast, with a parts store in the basement — some traces of which are still there today.

During the Second World War, Ford moved out, and the upstairs became home to a Royal Naval Club called The Three Arts. The name came from its love of singing, music, and poetry — and local legends say that Sir Noël Coward even paid a visit.

The building survived the devastating Blitz bombing of January 10th, 1941, which destroyed Portsmouth Guildhall. The clocktower stood firm, although sadly, the antiques shop across the road, run by the Fleming family, wasn’t so lucky, so after the war, Jack Fleming moved his business into the clocktower, kicking off a new chapter.

When Jack and John retired in 1994, Alfred and his wife Christel carried on the antiques trade from the basement of the building, keeping the family legacy going right up until December 1st, 2015.

But by then, a new chapter had already taken root. In 2005, Tony Wood took over the clocktower — bringing his creative energy to a building already steeped in history. With over a century of reinvention behind it, the clocktower found new life again, In Tony’s hands, the past found a future — and a little more colour, too.