Prior Castell's Clock is an

astronomical clock An astronomical clock, horologium, or orloj is a clock with special mechanisms and dials to display astronomical information, such as the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, zodiacal constellations, and sometimes major planets. Definition ...

Durham Cathedral Durham Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Durham, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Durham and is the Mother Church#Cathedral, mother church of the diocese of Durham. It also contains the ...

History and description

The clock was placed in the cathedral between 1494 and 1519, during the tenure of Prior Thomas Castell. Dean Richard Hunt renovated it between 1620 and 1638. It was originally on the east side of the

rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, o ...

, but was moved in 1593 to its current location in the south transept. In 1845, Dean George Waddington removed the clock case from the cathedral. A main part of the clock case was given to

Pittington Pittington is a village and civil parish in County Durham, in England. It is situated a few miles north-east of Durham, England, Durham. The population as taken at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census was 2,534. Pittington is made up of ...

Hallgarth Church in 1847. The clock mechanism was fixed in a blank window. Parts of it were rediscovered in 1936 and Dean

Cyril Alington Cyril Argentine Alington (22 October 1872 – 16 May 1955) was an English educationalist, scholar, cleric, and author. He was successively the headmaster of Shrewsbury School and Eton College. He also served as chaplain to King George V and as D ...

launched a campaign to restore it. Mr. J. Armstrong from London, an expert in paint, was engaged in removing the layers of paint down to the original colouring. In 1969 the cathedral installed a new heating system which caused the wooden supports for the clock to dry out and crack. Metal bands were put round the supports to prevent the clock from falling.

References

{{Astronomical clocks Individual clocks in England Durham Cathedral Astronomical clocks in the United Kingdom