Church clock is fully working again

Following further repairs to the clock's mechanism completed on 20 September, the tenor bell is once again ringing on the hour. It is anticipated that the timing indicated by the bell and the dial will be accurate to within a minute - not bad for a 250+ years-old clock that is affected by any change of temperature in the tower!

News from 31 August

The clock is working again and the hour hand on the dial will display a reasonably accurate indication of the time. However, the clock is not currently connected to the tenor bell that rings out the hour.

Further investigations are on-going and details will be published in the Autumn issue of the Friends of St Lawrence Newsletter which is due to be distributed with the October Parish Magazine.

News from 31 July - Church clock at standstill

For the past few days the church clock has been running fast by several minutes, despite several adjustments to the pendulum.

Atypical noises have also been heard and so a decision has been taken to stop the clock to avoid any damage, whilst advice is sought.

This image of the clock in the tower at St Lawrence Church may not be the image that springs to mind when the term 'Church clock' is used. It is the movement situated inside the tower and is typical of tower clocks dating from the second half of the 18th C.

The original purpose of tower, or turret clocks as they are often called, was to strike the hours on a bell in the tower. It was a later idea to supply them with outside dials. The dial of the St Lawrence clock has a single hand on the dial recording the hour, that is secured to a shaft that runs through the tower wall and into the tower, where it joins the mechanism.

More details about the history of the St Lawrence clock is here:

https://www.stratfordsubcastle.org.uk/church-clock