Church Clock

St Michael’s Turret Clock and Viennese 8-Day Clock St Michael’s turret clock was made by Benjamin Louis Vulliamy [1780-1854], whose father, also Benjamin, was clockmaker to King George III. Justin Vulliamy, born in Switzerland in 1712 started a family dynasty of highly renowned clock makers which earned the appointment as Clockmaker to the Crown in 1742 and which they retained for 112 years. The turret clock itself is unusual in that it has a second hand on the movement. The striking hammers and linkages were removed in 1938 when the bells were re-hung in a modern steel frame. However the striking mechanism is still in place within the clock and the majority of the extraneous mechanics still exist, including the massive striking train drive weight. There are clock faces on both the north and south faces of the tower. The clock in mounted in the Ringing Chamber on a mezzanine built specifically for the clock to provide sufficient height for the pendulum to move without protrusion into the main church space below. The clock is still wound by hand every week by the ringers. It requires exactly 28 turns of the winding handle and that is sufficient for 7 days, exactly. The presentation plate on the clock reads: This Clock was Presented to Basingstoke Church By the Rev James Blatch BD Vicar AD :1843 In the Thirtieth Year of his Incumbency —-------------- Made by B L Vulliamy FRAS FRGS London Clockmaker to their Late Majesties KING GEORGE the 3rd & 4th. William The 4th & to her Present Majesty —------------------ No 1616 AD 1843 The Ringing Chamber also has a Viennese 8 day regulator clock of unknown manufacture which is in perfect working order but its case, finished in black, is in rather poor condition with the upper finial structure missing.