Clock tower flogged off to Texan oil billionaire

Maidenhead's historic Jubilee Clock Tower has been sold off to a Texan oil magnate in a bid to shore up crumbling council finances.

Hard-up borough chiefs took the decision to sell after billionaire businessman Hank Oswald Astor Xavier III made them an 'offer they couldn't refuse' rumoured to be in excess of £5million.

Super-rich Xavier now plans to have the clock tower, currently situated on King Street opposite Maidenhead railway station, moved to his 50,000-acre ranch outside Houston, Texas.

Historical advisors from Oxford University and English Heritage will oversee the work of expert stonemasons as they painstakingly dismantle the clock tower brick by brick and transport it by air for reassembly at its new home.

The clock tower was built to mark the 1897 diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria. As it was paid for by public subscription it is legally the council¹s property and there is nothing to stop its disposal.

Reported to be one of the richest men in the world, Xavier claims to be a distant relative of Maidenhead's famous Astor family and is said to regard the town as his ancestral home. In a statement he said: "The Jubilee Clock Tower is a little piece of my heritage and sure will look sweet on my ranch."
 
The council this week described the sale as 'a timely opportunity'.

A spokesman said: "The money raised from the sale will help us maintain essential services without placing an additional burden on the council tax payer.
"The clock tower was really starting to look out of place with the office developments on Grenfell Island.

"With Crossrail coming to town we wanted to replace it with a contemporary art installation which will better reflect the forward looking nature of modern Maidenhead and be much more in keeping with the area."