The Duke's ' Thirteen Clock'

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXI, Issue 25, 18 June 1903, Page 11

The Duke's ' Thirteen Clock '

An ingenious timekeeping arrangement exists to-day which was designed by that famous Duke of Bridgewater who laced South Lancashire with canals, and died a hundred years ago. The Duke was a great stickler for punctuality, and he was annoyed that the workmen on his estate at Worsley did not return to work after dinner as promptly as they left off when the clock struck twelve, when he remonstrated ne was told that while the workmen always heard the clock strike twelve, they often failed to hear the single stroke of one. The Duke of Bridgewater quickly found a .remedy lor this difficulty. He had a clock made that would strike thirteen times an hour after noon, and that clock proclaims one o'clock with a baker's dozen of sonorous strokes to this day. The ' thirteen clock ' is one of the curiosities of Worsley Hall.