 |
All Saints Church Church Clock |
 |
|
| All Saints Clifton Church Clock | ||
Clifton Church clock continues to strike the hours, chime the quarters and play the carillon at 8 am, 12 noon, 4 pm and 8 pm. I know from our village Facebook page that many people are pleased to hear the bells but it’s not the bell-ringers making the noise it is ‘just’ the clock. However the clock does not do all this by magic (or electricity). It happens because the dedicated team of clock winders continue to serve our community and keep us in time. When we ‘change the clocks’ this also happens manually and involves going up the Tower at night to make the adjustment either forward or back. In case you are thinking of a small finger turned key for winding the clock you could not be further from the truth. There are 4 different serious pieces of engineering making up the clock and all the mechanisms require quite a bit of two-handed ‘welly’ to do the winding. In theory it is an 8 day mechanism but to make the job more manageable the team wind it 3 times a week to keep it all topped up. Our Church Guide tells us: The Clock and Carillon The clock was installed in 1863. It was made by John Moore of Clerkenwell. It is of a type known as a cast iron four poster with three trains, deadbeat escapement and rack striking. In 1867 Henry Miles added the Cambridge Quarter Chimes. In 1879 the carillon machine was also commissioned from John Moore. It is still in use and is the only working carillon in Bedfordshire. It plays four tunes on eleven bells at 8 am, 12 noon, 4 pm and 8 pm.
The full text of the Clifton Church Guide can be found on the village website: Kathy Blackmore |
|
|
