Have you got time to learn about ten of the oldest clocks in the world? I think you might be truly surprised at just how old they are and often how they are made. (just a quick note to say that you might notice these clocks are all located in England in the UK. But with the very first mechanical clock located here in the UK, it does make sense that all the top ten should be located here and people started to copy the original and oldest design) Made to measure time, they are now part of our understanding of time itself….
10 – Location: St Augustine of Canterbury Church, England (Date Built: 1535)
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Info: The clock is of 16th Century origin, and has only one hand. The bell, which was cast in 1714, also came from the Earl of Derwentwater. It was recast in 1845 and is now one of a peel of ten bells.
9 – Location: British Museum, England (Date Built: 1528)
Original Source Used: >> Click Here <<
Info: This clock which is on an inclined plane was invented by William Congreve. The ball rolls down zigzag grooves in the open frame with columns at each side which is surmounted by three silvered-metal rings indicating seconds, minutes and hours; The original had a Sheraton satinwood case with stepped base and columns surmounted by domed glass hood.
8 – Location: Durham Cathedral, England (Date Built: 1500)
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Info: It is the cathedral’s only wooden object known to have the survived the English Civil War, purportedly because it is embellished with a thistle, the symbol of Scotland, and was therefore spared being used as firewood by the Scottish army, who used the Cathedral as barracks in the 1640s.
7 – Location: Exeter Cathedral, England (Date Built: 1500)
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Info: The outermost disc is decorated with a fleur-de-lis which represents the sun, and which orbits the dial once every 24 hours. This indicates the hour of the day, counted from I to XII in Roman numerals in first the right and then the left hemispheres of the clockface.
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6 – Location: Cotehele House, England (Date Built: 1495)
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Info: This clock is said to be ‘the oldest known pre-pendulum domestic clock still in its original position. It is certainly old, medieval or early Tudor. Instead of a pendulum, it has a foliot-and-verge mechanism.
5 – Location: St Marys Church, England (Date Built: 1480)
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Info: After 30 years of silence, the clock was restored to working condition in 1907 by John James Hall, FRAS of Exeter. The rededication service, on 20 May 1907, was attended by the Bishop of Exeter, Archibald Robertson, who formally set the clock going.
4 – Location: Victoria and Albert Museum, England (Date Built: 1450)
Original Source Used: >> Click Here <<
Info: This is an early table clock fo use in a palace or wealthy household. Its Gothic style case reflects cathedral architecture of the time. Each corner pillar has a niche containing the figure of a saint. Part of the case and the bell are now missing. The clock was originally spring driven but later converted to weight drive. A model to the right of the clock itself shows how the mechanism originally looked.
3 – Location: Ottery St Mary, England (Date Built: 1412)
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Info: The south transept of the church of St Mary in Ottery St Mary houses the astronomical clock, one of the oldest surviving mechanical clocks in England.
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2 – Location: Wells Cathedral, England (Date Built: 1392)
Original Source Used: >> Click Here <<
Info: Located high on the west wall of the north transept is one of the most popular and endearing attractions of Wells Cathedral; a 14th-century astronomical clock thought to be the second oldest mechanical clock in Europe.
1 – Location: Salisbury Cathedral, England (Date Built: 1386)
Original Source Used: >> Click Here <<
Info: The Salisbury cathedral clock is a large iron-framed clock without a dial located in the aisle of Salisbury Cathedral. Supposedly dating from about 1386, it is claimed to be the oldest working clock in the world
