1. Time Piece
Lund and Blockley, Pall Mall, London. 1880
2.
Chiming or Striking Mechanism
Probably by the same maker as the Time Piece
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1) Timepiece: Plate and
spacer features. Date 1880
Made by
Lund & Blockley, 42 Pall Mall, London
- Clock No. 2/475
Specification:
Cast iron frame. Brass wheels and lantern pinions. Deadbeat
escapement. Wooden pendulum rod, cylindrical bob, beat 1¼
seconds. Cast iron barrel. The great wheel rotates once in 3
hours and drives an hour arbor. Hour arbor has a four lobed
snail which lets off (triggers) the chime mechanism. There
is a setting dial and maintainer. Automatic winding with
synchronous winder on the second arbor, fitted by the
author.
2) Chiming Mechanism:
Flatbed features. Date 1880
Probably
made by Lund & Blockley
There is no maker's name on the chime but there is a similarity in
the design of the pivot bushes etc, to suggest the same maker as
the timepiece.
The distinctive characteristic of the chime is the wooden chiming
barrel. It has radial pins and circumferential hour bands which
trigger the quarters and the hours. The chiming barrel rotates
five times in twelve hours and a cam pushes the barrel axially to
engage the appropriate pins and bands. Unfortunately, the quarter
chiming triggers and levers are missing and consequently the
mechanism only goes through the motions of chiming the quarters.
It does, however, strike the hours.
By studying the barrel it appears that the chime was a simple ting
tang which is a little disappointing for such a grand mechanism.
The quarter chime may have been removed when three new bells were
hung in 1955 or alternatively the chimes were never supplied. The
speed of the chime is regulated by a vertical fly which is driven
by a wheel driving a worm. This arrangement is a little unusual
insofar that it is normal engineering practice for the worm to
drive the wheel.
Carillons and chiming mechanisms usually need very heavy weights
to drive them and with a weight of 6501bs this mechanism is no
exception. In order to reduce the high winding tongues a winding
jack meshes with the great wheel, which reduces the effort needed
to wind it. Automatic winding is now fitted which drives the chime
through the winding jack pinion and hence reduces the required
winding torque.
A
convex copper dial, painted black with gold Roman numerals
overlooks the village on the south face of the tower.
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Former Sharnbrook
Church Clock
(on
display in Felmersham Church)
Type: Two wooden
upright posts. Known as doorframe type
Maker: Unknown
Date: Mid C17?
Two
oak posts support both trains and the arbours are secured to the
posts with pivot wedge bolts. Flail-locking strike control with
internally notched count wheel and a blade-shaped locking piece.
Below the strike train is the converted going train. The great
wheel formed part of the original train which had a verge and
foliot escapement with the foliot suspended beneath the frame.
Converted to recoil anchor escapement in the early C18.
Going train ratios: great wheel 113T; second arbor pinion 14T;
second arbor wheel 60T; escape wheel pinion 13T; escape wheel 30T.
Sharnbrook Wooden Frame Clock possibly mid C17
On display in Felmersham Church |
The tenor bell weighs 1052 kgms
(1ton 74lbs). Rev'd. Thomas Sander stands beside the bell to
give an indication of size |
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The Church Bells
Prior to 1951
there was only a ring of five bells in the tower. The two oldest
bells were made by the Bedford bell founder Edward Newcombe, and both are inscribed Newcome made
mee 1617.
Hugh Watts,
of Leicester, made the treble in 1634 and it is known as a Watt’s
Nazarenes bell because of the inscription IHS Nazarenvs Rex Judorvm fili dei Misereri Mei
1634. (Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, Son of God, have mercy on
me).
The tenor and
the third were cast in the C18 by the St Neots bell founder Joseph
Eayre and these are both inscribed
John Hutchinson, Vicar, William Bithrey, Robert Lord, Church
Wardens, Joseph Eayers St. Neots, Fecit 1766. Weighing 20cwt
2quarters 18lbs (1052 kgms) the tenor is the heaviest bell and
bears the additional inscription Cum voco venite (Come at
my call).
In
1955, the original ring of five bells were re-tuned and augmented
into a ring of eight. The additional three bells were made by the
Whitechapel Bell Foundry and installed mainly at the expense of
Sir Richard and Lady Wells, as a memorial to their three sons who
were killed in action during the 1939-45 war. All eight bells were
re-hung with new fittings and a new metal frame replaced the old
oak frame.
|
Bell |
Note |
Weight
cwt. qrs. lbs. |
Maker |
Date |
|
Tenor |
Eb |
20 - 2 -
18 |
Joseph Eayre -
St Neots |
1766 |
|
7th |
F |
14 - 2 -
19 |
Edward
Newcombe - Bedford |
1617 |
|
6th |
G |
11 - 2 -
2 |
Joseph Eayre -
St Neots |
1766 |
|
5th |
Ab |
8 - 1 -
19 |
Edward
Newcombe - Bedford |
1617 |
|
4th |
Bb |
8 - 2 -
3 |
Hugh Watts -
Leicester |
1634 |
|
3rd |
C |
6 - 2 -
27 |
Whitechapel Bell Foundry |
1955 |
|
2nd |
D |
6 - 0 -
14 |
Whitechapel Bell Foundry |
1955 |
|
Treble |
Eb |
5 - 2 -
10 |
Whitechapel Bell Foundry |
1955 |
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