EARLIEST CLOCK

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 862, 4 January 1930, Page 23

EARLIEST CLOCK

MECHANISM OF 1386 A.D. FIND IN CATHEDRAL What may prove to be the earliest turret clock in England is being examined where it lies, silent and rust- i ing. in the first chamber of the Great ' Tower of Salisbury Cathedral. Mr. A. Tremavne, of the “Practical Watch and Clock Maker,” through Mr. R. P. Howgrave-Graham. the antiquary, has begun investigations which have already established that the mechanism existed in 1356. That is six years before the earliest record of the Wells clock, now in the Science Museum at South Kensington. The Salisbury clock was originally installed in a 13th century belfry in the cathedral close, and when this was destroyed in 1790 the clock was removed to the Great Tower, where it continued to work until it was supplanted in ISS4 by a modern movement. Mr. Howgrave-Graham states that

an interesting feature is the bandwheel for winding the going (as distinct from the striking) part. It is of a primitive character, but not in itself evidence of a very early date. The striking mechanism is more primitive than that of the Wells clock, and there are numerous reasons for believing the two movements to be the work of ono man. Will Work For Centuries The fact that the Salisbury clock struck only the hours, while that of Wells struck the quarters, also leads Mr. Howgrave-Graham to think that he may have come across a case of the actual evolution of the 14th century clockmaker's methods. He thinks that not only is the Salisbury clock probably the earliest turret clock in the country, but also It may be the earliest remaining clock In the world which had a dial. Mr. Howgrave-Graham declares that only a little work at a trifling cost would be required to make the clock go for many hundreds of years.