![Wells clock](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Wells_clock.jpg)
The Wells Cathedral 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
...
in the north
transept
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...
of
Wells Cathedral
Wells Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England, dedicated to St Andrew the Apostle. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, whose cathedra it holds as mother church of the Diocese of Bath and Wells. Built as a ...
, England. The clock is one of the group of famous 14th to 16th century astronomical clocks to be found in the West of England. The surviving mechanism, dated to between 1386 and 1392, was replaced in the 19th century, and was eventually moved to the
Science Museum
A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in mu ...
in London, where it continues to operate. The dial represents the
geocentric
In astronomy, the geocentric model (also known as geocentrism, often exemplified specifically by the Ptolemaic system) is a superseded description of the Universe with Earth at the center. Under most geocentric models, the Sun, Moon, stars, an ...
view of the universe, with Sun and Moon revolving round a central fixed Earth. It may be unique in showing a philosophical model of the pre-
Copernican universe.
Another dial is mounted on the outside wall, driven from the same mechanism. This was first installed in the 14th or 15th centuries, but has been restored a number of times.
Description
![Wells clock exterior](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Wells_clock_exterior.jpg)
The dial proposes a model of the universe. Against a background of stars, the Sun (the large gilded star on the outer ring) moves in a circle, and indicates the time using the
24-hour analogue dial, which is marked in Roman numerals from I to XII, then from I to XII again. Noon is at the top of the dial reflecting the position of the Sun in the sky at this time.
In the corners, four angels hold the four cardinal winds. These may be generating the power that makes the universe operate.
The minutes are indicated by a smaller star on the ring inside.
The inner circle shows the moon. A pointer indicates the age of the moon, between 1 and 30 days. The black and white disk above the centre shows the moon's phase. The white disk rotates once in a
synodic month
In lunar calendars, a lunar month is the time between two successive syzygies of the same type: new moons or full moons. The precise definition varies, especially for the beginning of the month.
Variations
In Shona, Middle Eastern, and Europ ...
. The inscription around the moon phase indicator says ''sphericus archetypum globus hic monstrat microcosmum'', which translates as ''This spherical globe here shows the archetypal microcosm''.
Howgrave-Graham suggests that the scribe erroneously put ''microcosmum'', when ''macrocosmum'' is the more obvious word. Opposite the Moon circle is a weighted pivoted disc, containing a small painting of
Phoebe, representing the Moon. The inscription reads: ''Sic peragrat Phobe'', or ''So progresses Phoebe''.
At the centre of the dial, the ball represents the Earth, and the clouds suggest the same.
Above the clock and to the right is a figure, known as Jack Blandifers, or Blandiver, who hits a bell with a hammer held in his right hand and two bells hung beneath him with his heels. A set of jousting knights also chase each other every 15 minutes.
History
There are mentions of a clock at Wells during the first half of the 14th century, with a payment being made for the keeper of the clock in 1392–1393.
In 1388, Bishop
Ralph Erghum
Ralph Ergham (or Erghum; died 1400) was the English bishop of Salisbury from 1375 to 1388, and then bishop of Bath and Wells from 1388 to 1400.
Ergham was Chancellor of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster from 1373 to 1377. On 12 October 1375 he ...
moved from Salisbury to Wells. He had previously been
Bishop of Salisbury
The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The see is in the City of Salisbury where the bishop's seat ...
, from 1375 to 1388, and had installed
a clock there in 1386. He may have brought his clockmakers with him to Wells. The two clocks are almost identical in construction, although the Wells clock shows some improvements and additions, which suggests that some valuable lessons had been learned. The Wells striking system uses a double lever, for example, which is more reliable than the system used in Salisbury. It can be safely assumed that the Wells clock and the Salisbury clock are roughly of the same age, as they share a lot of construction details. The assumption that both clocks were made in the 14th century is not verifiable, as only a payment to a keeper of a clock is mentioned, but no detail about the clock itself at the time is known.
However,
John Leland the antiquary claimed in the mid 16th century that the clock at
Glastonbury Abbey
Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. Its ruins, a grade I listed building and scheduled ancient monument, are open as a visitor attraction.
The abbey was founded in the 8th century and enlarged in the 10th. It wa ...
, just six miles from Wells, was made by Peter Lightfoot, a monk at the Abbey, and further evidence is provided by the monastic chronicler, John of Glaston. Glaston says it was "a great clock distinguished by shows and figures in motion". It was reported (in 1828) that "At the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
, this clock was removed from Glastonbury Abbey to its present situation in Wells Cathedral". Lightfoot was also reputed to have made the clocks at Wimborne and Exeter. However, a re-consideration of all the facts leads to the conclusion that following the construction of the Glastonbury Abbey clock, Lightfoot was engaged to make a clock especially for Wells Cathedral.
The clock was converted to
pendulum
A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward the ...
and
anchor escapement
In horology, the anchor escapement is a type of escapement used in pendulum clocks. The escapement is a mechanism in a mechanical clock that maintains the swing of the pendulum by giving it a small push each swing, and allows the clock's wheels ...
in the 17th century. The original mechanism was installed in the
Science Museum
A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in mu ...
in London in 1884.
In August 2010, the current Keeper of the Great Clock of Wells, Paul Fisher, announced his retirement. With the Cathedral authorities planning to fit an electric motor to wind the clock, his retirement was set to end the practice of winding the clock by hand.
See also
*
Salisbury Cathedral clock
*
Exeter Cathedral Astronomical Clock
The Exeter Cathedral Astronomical Clock is a fifteenth-century astronomical clock in Exeter Cathedral, England. It displays the hour of the day, the day of the lunar month and the phase of the moon. The modern clock mechanism was installed in ...
*
Ottery St Mary Astronomical Clock
*
Wimborne Minster Astronomical Clock
*
Castle Combe Clock
The Castle Combe clock in St. Andrew's Church, Castle Combe, Wiltshire, England was probably made in the late 15th century. It is faceless and strikes a bell in the church tower.
History
There are no known documents that show an exact date w ...
*
Cotehele clock
The Cotehele clock is situated at Cotehele, Cotehele House, Calstock, Cornwall. It is the earliest turret clock in the United Kingdom still working in an unaltered state and in its original position. It was probably installed between 1493 and 15 ...
References
Further reading
*
R P Howgrave-Graham, ''New light on ancient turret clocks'' Antiquarian Horology, 1954.
{{Astronomical clocks
Astronomical clocks in the United Kingdom
Individual clocks in England
Turret clocks
Wells Cathedral