The Watford Observer has reported that the bid by developer Paul Stacey to knock down the old Sun Clock Tower erected by the then-Sun Engraving Company has reached a “critical stage”. 

The local council has rejected the plans, but the matter has now gone to the Planning Inspectorate and the decision could be overturned. The deadline for objections is 15 July.

In Sun Printers and Odhams, Watford was home to two of the biggest printers of the day, with a substantial amount of local people employed by the companies. 

The fascinating history of Sun Printers is detailed here, by the Sun Printers History Society.

The firm was also the subject of a book, The Way of the Sun, which charted the firm's rise from the establishment of Geo W. Jones in London in 1890, the formation of the Anglo Engraving Company by Edward Hunter in 1898 as a photoengraving operation located in Farringdon, the acquisition of Rembrandt Intaglio in 1932, and the other mergers and acquisitions along the way, until the closure of Polestar Watford in 2004.

Included in the history is the formation of Sun Printers, when the printing operations were sold to Hazell, Watson & Viney in 1945, the formation of the British Printing Company in 1964, Robert Maxwell’s acquisition of BPC in 1981, and his subsequent acquisition of Odhams and its merger with Sun.

At one point the business employed 2,000 staff. 

According to a posting on the ‘WhatDoTheyKnow’ site, The Sun Clock Tower in West Watford was erected in 1934 over an artesian well. It contained a pumping station which enabled Sun Engraving to extract its own water and overcome problems with fluctuating water supplies. 

The old Sun Printers site has been redeveloped and the Sun Clock Tower has been subjected to vandalism, although it was restored in 2007. 

Ernie MacKenzie of Watford, who spent all of his working life in print, also wrote to the Watford Observer calling for the tower to be saved, as it “commemorates the memory of a once great printing company” that along with Odhams had put Watford on the map with a worldwide reputation for excellence in printing.

There is also an Odhams Clock Tower in North Watford, providing another link between the two once-great names. 

The link to the Planning Inspectorate case, where representations and objections can be made, is here.