History of the Clock

What clock? Since the 1870's the outside of the tower of Christ Church has been bereft of a clock face. This is because the architect responsible for re-modelling the cathedral (George Edmund Street) wanted to enlarge the louvers and in his opinion the clock faces would not be suitable on the tower.

However from at least the 1600's there has been a clock in the tower and a means of striking some of the bells to signify certain events during the day. In 1845 a clock was supplied by Mc Master of Dublin and four new slate dials each one eight feet in diameter were set into the walls as can be seen from old photographs of the cathedral. The pendulum for this clock was approximately 18 feet long causing it to take over 2 seconds for each swing and the hours were struck on the Tenor bell (Abel Rudhall 1738).

In 1877 the Mc Master clock was dismantled and sent back to Gillett and Bland in Croydon who as well as being bell founders were also manufacturers of clocks. Apart from replacing some of the worn parts of the clock they also installed a new escapement mechanism. This type of escapement is sometimes known as "Grimthorpes double three legged gravity escapement" and was perfected for the large clock in the tower at Westminster palace. In addition to the reconstruction of the Mc Master clock Gillett and Bland also added their own quarter chime unit to the clock so that when the bells were augmented to a ring of ten the clock would then strike the hours on the new tenor and the quarters on four of the lighter bells (numbers 1,2,3 and 6, notes at that time being E D C and G respectively).

Strangely enough even though most people know the quarter chime sequence as "Westminster chimes" the sequence was originally composed for the bells of Great St. Mary's Cambridge and so strictly speaking are "Cambridge chimes". In compensating for the loss of the clock faces the cathedral also bought a tune playing machine also supplied by Gillett and Bland. This was capable of playing 28 different tunes on the bells. In the late 1920's this machine was sold and so the extra "flat 4th" Murphy had provided became surplus to requirements.

A brass plaque on the door leading up to the tower records the fact that in 1926 the tower clock and chimes were restored in memory of Robert Seedes Q.C. This had been the only major work done to the clock since 1877. The winding of the clock was done usually by the Cathedral groundsman or the Dean's verger.

There are three parts to the clock:

1. The clock mechanism with a small face on the front and a series of steel pins to trigger off the quarter chimes and the hour strike at the appropriate time.

2. The hour strike which does the work of lifting the hammer to strike the outside of the Tenor.

3. The quarter chime unit which, when triggered by the clock, works like a music box to lift and drop hammers on the bells in the appropriate sequence.

From the late 1960's onwards the clock fell into disrepair probably due to the fact that since it had no face it was a case of "out of sight out of mind". When it was realised in 1997 that the Friends of Christ Church would be willing to finance the work needed to restore the clock this was done and a very thorough restoration job was carried out by an antiquarian horologist Julian C S F Cosby which took several weeks.

It was also through the generosity of the Friends that the bell, formerly of St. Andrews church in Suffolk street is now functioning properly, although its removal from St. Andrews was carried out by ringers from the three main towers in Dublin.It was also through the generosity of the Friends that the bell, formerly of St. Andrews church in Suffolk street is now functioning properly, although its removal from St. Andrews was carried out by ringers from the three main towers in Dublin.

Due to the fact that the quarter chimes go off every 15 minutes it was decided that out of respect for the local inhabitants of the area a special night silencing mechanism would be devised. This prevents the quarters going off at 9pm at the night but allows them to begin chiming again come morning time.

In August 1999 the clock was to stop again. This was necessary as part of the weight chute that the clock used was to be dismantled allowing the new framework for the augmentation. As part of the augmentation process it was clear that the clock would now require automatic winding units. These units are attached to the clock in a discrete location and re-wind when the weights descend to a certain level. The wooden panels which originally enclosed the clock are in the process of being re-instated, and much of the wood from the redundant weight chute is re-used in constructing a new enclosure.

Details of the Chimes

The quarter chimes are now (30 December 2000) back in operation. Over the next few weeks they will need to be 'run in' and adjusted as cables stretch and hammers bed in etc. There is a night silencing system for the quarter chimes which also has to be re-established (1/4 chimes are not to be confused with the hour strike which goes day and night 7 days a week).

This means that under 'normal operation' the quarter chimes should sound only between the following times:

Monday - Thursday
1/4 chimes strike at 7:00 am and go every 15 minutes until striking 8:45 pm. It is then silenced until 7:00 am the following day, when it resumes striking.

Friday Night
Being practice night for ringers it will be silenced at 5:45 pm ( and disengaged from the bells) and will not strike the quarter until Saturday Morning at 11:00 am.

Saturday
1/4 chimes strike at 11:00 am and run until 8:45 pm. Ringers practice may disrupt this usually around lunchtime. Silenced again after striking 8:45 pm.

Sunday
1/4 chimes strike after we finish ringing for the morning service, i.e 11:00 am. Are silenced again for afternoon ringing 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm. Strike 3:30 pm and continue until 8:45 pm. Silenced until 7:00 am Monday Morning.

The above times are a guideline, generally though, the 1/4's should never be heard after 9:00 pm at night.