Well I didn't know that!

Out before 7 am to walk to the GP surgery for an early appointment.  I've never had an appointment at 7:30 am before!  It's about a mile and a half from home so I didn't have much time to take photographs, but I did capture this, with the intention of finding out about the clock and gate later.

Well, apparently, Bloxwich is mentioned in the Doomsday Book.  That's one over Walsall, which isn't.  As for the clock, it is the Pat Collins Memorial Clock.  Pat Collins was know as the 'King of Showmen'.  At one point he was running four separate funfairs a week, as well as owning 11 cinemas and several skating rinks.  What I found as surprising was that he also became M.P for Walsall in 1922, and later mayor of the town.  He lived in Bloxwich and the clock was constructed after his death in 1943.  A funfair still bears his name to this day.  

I was just impressed it was showing the correct time - which was more than could be said for the church clock.

I think B.P.G stand for either 'Bloxwich Parks and Gardens' or 'Bloxwich Promenade Gardens'.  It's apparent that a lot of effort was put in to providing parks and gardens for Bloxwich.  Going back to the 1800s, common land was maintained for the enjoyment of the good folk of Bloxwich, becoming formalised and laid out to recreation by the end of the century.  They are still there to this day.  The local park near our estate, the King George V Memorial Playing fields, came much later, in the 1930s, but we now have an enviable amount of park land in the area.