2014

SK9716 : Church of St Mary: Former tower clock

taken 9 years ago, near to Clipsham, Rutland, England

Church of St Mary: Former tower clock
Church of St Mary: Former tower clock
The weight-driven mechanism of the former tower clock, a rare wooden-framed Pendulum clock dating from 1688, bearing the initials IW.

Pevsner says that this is John Watts of Sleaford, and the nearby notice in the church says John Watts of Stamford. There is a long article about the man on this web site LinkExternal link

This clock never had any hands. It was designed only to strike the hours, in the medieval manner, automating a centuries old manual task. It will have been mounted in the tower to be close to the bells and to provide a 'fall' for the weights and a space for the pendulum.

The date of 1688 is remarkable, as the invention of the pendulum clock by Christiaan Huygens only dates from 1656.
Church of St Mary, Clipsham

Heavily restored in 1858, the church nevertheless dates back to the 12th century. It is a grade II* listed building, with Norman Arches in the North Arcade. It has always been associated heavily with the families at Clipsham Hall.


The bells were hung in the 17th Century. The first dated 1671, the second by Tobie Norris (II) of Stamford 1675, and the tenor by Thomas Norris 1657.

For details of the English Heritage listing see LinkExternal link

For the Victoria County History, including a description of the church, see LinkExternal link




Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Bob Harvey and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Lowlands Historic sites and artefacts Village, Rural settlement Primary Subject: Clock Image Buckets ?: Indoor Date: 1688 other tags: Tower Clock Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · St Mary's Church [67] Other Photos: · Church of St Mary: Description of tower clock ·
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SK9716, 241 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Bob Harvey   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Sunday, 9 November, 2014   (more nearby)
Submitted
Sunday, 9 November, 2014
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SK 9701 1637 [10m precision]
WGS84: 52:44.1763N 0:33.8791W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SK 9701 1637
View Direction
West-northwest (about 292 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Supplemental image
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