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It is England's tallest war memorial and an iconic fixture of Leek since 1925, but the arrival of a new hotel has silenced the Staffordshire market town's iconic memorial.

The town council has been forced to compromise with a new Premier Inn which called for the chimes of the memorial to be restricted in order to stop guests being disturbed. 

Instead of sounding off every 15 minutes from 6.15am the bell will first toll at 8.15am each day to enable the Premier Inn to live up to its promise of a great night's sleep for guests. 

Bell silenced: A Premier Inn's opening in Leek reduced the Nicholson War Memorial's bell song by two hours

The bell historically chimes until 10pm, and will continue to do so despite attempts from the Premier Inn to shut it down at 8pm, a request rejected by the council of the historic town, which lies 10 miles north-east of Stoke-on-Trent.

Leek deputy mayor Pamela Wood, who is chairman of the Friends of the Nicholson War Memorial group and whose husband is a bell ringer, said the compromise is a good move for the town as it bids to attract tourism.

'Most people won't notice the difference because there aren't that many people around at that time of the morning,' Wood told the BBC.

Premier Inn has spent £6.5million on the hotel on Ashbourne Road and brought 30 jobs to the town.

The 63-bed accommodation is built around the former Talbot pub.

The 90-foot tall memorial was commissioned by manufacturer Sir Arthur Nicholson and his wife Lady Marianne in tribute to their son, Lieutenant Basil Lee Nicholson, who was killed in action at Ypres in 1915. 

Historic: Sir Arthur Nicholson (left) and his wife Lady Marianne commissioned the memorial for their son, Lieutenant Basil Lee Nicholson, who died a war hero in Ypres 1915, and the tower being opened in 1925

The monument, which has four clock faces, honours all victims of World War I and II and has plaques commemorating the 535 men and women from Leek and the surrounding district who died in those conflicts.

The building was restored between 2010 and 2012 thanks mostly to a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The clock's keeper, Alan Brundrett, perhaps the man most likely to be put out by the two-hour silencing also considers the good of the town when commenting on the Premier Inn's influence. 

Keeping the peace: Locals have responded favourably to the arrival of the Premier Inn in Leek

He pointed out to the Stoke Sentinel that the clock once chimed every 15 minutes for 24 hours.

'This was before electronic timers and it would have been impracticable to fit a silencer,' he told the paper.

'I don't think it makes much of a difference. If you book a hotel room in a nice quiet town I think it's fair enough to expect a quiet night's sleep.'

The agreement with the Premier Inn also means the bell can be rung three additional times each year 'to mark significant occasions.'