Keeping Truro’s Town clock ticking
20/08/18 11:57 Filed in: HfCHall for Cornwall
Although Hall For Cornwall is now closed to the public, staff from the theatre visit the building three times a week to wind the historic clock, which has marked the passage of time with its chimes in the city for more than 100 years.
The current clock replaces the one destroyed in November 1914 when a major fire swept through the municipal buildings, causing the clock tower to fall through the roof of the Council Chamber. Newspaper reports at the time suggest that the fire began in the clock tower, spreading quickly through the wooden structure and destroying the Council Chamber, committee room, muniment room and roof of the building, as well as the original clock, which had been erected more than half a century earlier.
Although the furniture in the Council Chamber and many corridors and stairs were scorched by the fire and suffered water damage, most of the valuable paintings and portraits were saved, together with the Mayoral robes and chains.
Following the fire, the wooden structure of the clock tower was replaced with a three-storey building of steel and concrete while retaining the granite façade. The clock itself was made to the design of Lord Grimthorpe, who designed Big Ben; with the four bells cast by John Taylor and Sons, a Loughborough-based company that hung the Truro Cathedral bells, as well as throwing the 17-tonne Great Paul, the largest bell in the country at that time.
Following the new clock's formal presentation to Truro citizens in October 1915, it had remained in place, keeping perfect time apart from a short period in the 1970s when it was taken away to be refurbished while repairs were carried out on the clock tower.
Up to the closure of Hall For Cornwall at the beginning of June this year, winding the clock has been the responsibility of Alan Cocking, Truro City Council’s building facilitator. As well as incorporating the clock every day, including on bank holidays and during Christmas, during the past 12 years, Alan also had to manually adjust the clock twice a year to coincide with the start and end of British summertime.
“Putting the clock back involved stopping the entire clock mechanism for an hour”, explained Alan. “The alternative would have meant winding through 23 hours. Putting the clock forward involved adjusting a lever to make the clock run faster – this was much easier and only took about 10 minutes”.
Despite spending 12 years carefully winding the clock, maintenance and servicing had to be carried out by a specialist company – “I was only allowed to dust it now and then”, joked Alan. He is very proud that during all those 12 years, the clock has never been out by more than 5 seconds, possibly because of the preciseness of the manually controlled mechanism. By contrast, the chimes of the Cathedral clock, which has an electric machine and is serviced by the same company, can often be out by more than a few seconds.
The task of winding the clock has now fallen to four Hall For Cornwall staff members, who take turns to visit the clock tower every three days. The actual winding process involves rotating a series of handles which pull weights attached to cords and pulleys from the third to the tower's second floor. Once fully wound, the consequences take around 36 hours to return to their base when the whole process has to be repeated. This incredibly physical task can require two people to carry out.
“We have all enjoyed our clock winding duties,” said Catherine Richards, one of HFC’s clock winding team. “Up in the rafters of the City Hall, you get to see the cathedral and streets of Truro from a completely different viewpoint. The clock is such an intricate and beautiful piece of machinery; amazingly, it has been reliably ticking up in the tower for over a century.
“We take our winding responsibilities very seriously to ensure that the clock keeps accurate time for the people of Truro; it is a privilege to be part of the city’s living history.”
Although the furniture in the Council Chamber and many corridors and stairs were scorched by the fire and suffered water damage, most of the valuable paintings and portraits were saved, together with the Mayoral robes and chains.
Following the fire, the wooden structure of the clock tower was replaced with a three-storey building of steel and concrete while retaining the granite façade. The clock itself was made to the design of Lord Grimthorpe, who designed Big Ben; with the four bells cast by John Taylor and Sons, a Loughborough-based company that hung the Truro Cathedral bells, as well as throwing the 17-tonne Great Paul, the largest bell in the country at that time.
Following the new clock's formal presentation to Truro citizens in October 1915, it had remained in place, keeping perfect time apart from a short period in the 1970s when it was taken away to be refurbished while repairs were carried out on the clock tower.
Up to the closure of Hall For Cornwall at the beginning of June this year, winding the clock has been the responsibility of Alan Cocking, Truro City Council’s building facilitator. As well as incorporating the clock every day, including on bank holidays and during Christmas, during the past 12 years, Alan also had to manually adjust the clock twice a year to coincide with the start and end of British summertime.
“Putting the clock back involved stopping the entire clock mechanism for an hour”, explained Alan. “The alternative would have meant winding through 23 hours. Putting the clock forward involved adjusting a lever to make the clock run faster – this was much easier and only took about 10 minutes”.
Despite spending 12 years carefully winding the clock, maintenance and servicing had to be carried out by a specialist company – “I was only allowed to dust it now and then”, joked Alan. He is very proud that during all those 12 years, the clock has never been out by more than 5 seconds, possibly because of the preciseness of the manually controlled mechanism. By contrast, the chimes of the Cathedral clock, which has an electric machine and is serviced by the same company, can often be out by more than a few seconds.
The task of winding the clock has now fallen to four Hall For Cornwall staff members, who take turns to visit the clock tower every three days. The actual winding process involves rotating a series of handles which pull weights attached to cords and pulleys from the third to the tower's second floor. Once fully wound, the consequences take around 36 hours to return to their base when the whole process has to be repeated. This incredibly physical task can require two people to carry out.
“We have all enjoyed our clock winding duties,” said Catherine Richards, one of HFC’s clock winding team. “Up in the rafters of the City Hall, you get to see the cathedral and streets of Truro from a completely different viewpoint. The clock is such an intricate and beautiful piece of machinery; amazingly, it has been reliably ticking up in the tower for over a century.
“We take our winding responsibilities very seriously to ensure that the clock keeps accurate time for the people of Truro; it is a privilege to be part of the city’s living history.”