This article was originally posted in the Liverpool Echo on 20th August 2023
The love story dates back many decades
A roundabout used by hundreds of drivers everyday contains a forgotten love story that many are unaware of.
The Picton Clock roundabout at the junction of High Street, Childwall Road and Church Road North in Wavertree is known for its historic clock tower that sits in the centre. But what many people don’t know is that the tower was put there by architect Sir James Picton almost 140 years ago as a memorial to his wife Sarah Pooley.
The couple were married for 50 years before Sarah died in 1879. The major junction is said to have been chosen as the spot for the memorial so the maximum number of people would be able to see it.
The tower contains three plaques including two poems. They read: “Time wasted is existence; used is life. The slow sweet hours that bring us all things good, the slow sad hours that bring us all things ill, And all good things from evil. Not at once. Not all to be forgotten.”
The second poem reads: “Hereby we see the minutes, how they run; How many make the hours full complete; How many hours bring about the day; So minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years; Pass’d over to the end they were created; Would bring white hairs unto a quiet grave.”
The third plaque reads: “This clock tower dedicated to the use of the public was erected by Sir James Allanson Picton of Sandy Knowe Wavertree in memory of his beloved wife Sarah Pooley who after a happy union of fifty years fell on sleep Feb 15 1879”
Sir James Picton was an architect and a councillor who was the driving force behind the construction of Liverpool’s first public library. Picton Road, Picton Library and the Picton Reading Room at Liverpool Central library were all named after him.