Thank you to everyone who so generously donated to the fund to repair the clock, which will be repaired shortly. Unfortunately this will take a little time but we hope to have it working again soon (we will update the information here when we know more).
The clock strikes every hour constantly. It marks the quarter hours, from 11am to 7pm, with Cambridge Chimes (Westminster Quarters).
The clock was made by William Potts & Sons and was funded by public subscription. It has a face on each of the four sides of the tower which is situated at the west end of the church. It was installed in 1897 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee on 20 June that year. She visited on 15 July to inspect the clock. The story goes that she was a little late and the rector asked for the clock to be put back, so as not to embarrass the Queen – on arrival she pointed out that the clock was behind time.
The clock is a smaller edition of the Great Westminster Clock (Big Ben). The dials are 4 feet in diameter, the figures 5 inches high and minute spaces 2 inches wide. The clock faces were originally gas lit and each had a crown above it (these were probably made of iron and would have eventually fallen off - there is no evidence of them now).
The chimes are those of Big Ben so are set to the prayer:
All through this hour
Lord, be my guide
And by the power
no foot shall slide
The clock originally had to be wound once a week but in 1995 an automatic clock winding mechanism was installed. The (very heavy) redundant driving weights were removed by members of the Household Cavalry Regiment - there are 71 steps from the road to the clock chamber (plus a further 29 to the bell chamber above).
