Boston Arms

The Boston Arms is a grand, ornate Victorian pub, built originally as the Boston Hotel in 1899. Four storeys high, it has arches, scrolled pediments, pilasters, an enriched frieze and elaborate cornicing topped by a lead-covered dome with a cupola, stone gargoyles and a decorative wrought-iron weathervane. A longstanding traditional Irish pub, it has been under the same family’s ownership for 40 years and is well known in north London for the bands it has hosted over decades. The building now contains nine flats, two huge indoor music venues and a ground floor pub.

The Boston Arms elevated public clock is a commercial gravity weight clock designed in 1844, with three cast iron dials, German opal glass and ribbed copper hands. After the failure of its autowinder, the clock stopped working. The façade, stone and brickwork of the building behind the clock also need restoration. The lead on the cupola is peeling back exposing the timbers beneath, the weathervane is badly corroded, and the stone gargoyles need cleaning and minor repairs. The clock room has pigeon access, the opal glass is cracked in places and the iron hands of the clock are corroded. The internal mechanism of the clock is going to be restored to functionality and its dials, hands and glass repaired. After this, the clock's faces will be backlit so as to be visible from afar and at night.