19th Century Sussex church clock face replaced by digital screen (From The Argus)
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19th Century Sussex church clock face replaced by digital screen
9:00am Thursday 1st April 2010 in News By Richard Gurner
MODERN: Artist's impression
A 19th Century church clock is to be dragged into the modern era with a new digital face.
As many of you guessed, this story was an April Fool.
The clock in the spire of St John’s Church, Burgess Hill, is to be refitted with a modern automated system to make the clock more accurate.
Church wardens have said the current clock mechanism is difficult for clock engineers to access for routine maintenance and to change the time twice a year.
The old iron and brass mechanism was originally hand wound by raising weights but these have since been electrically wound up to keep the clock functioning.
The clock does keep reasonable time but has to be changed manually twice a year and when the winding gear fails.
However the new automated system is incompatible with the traditional clock face and so the display will have to be replaced with a digital read out.
Plans to replace the clock's chimes with a synthesised alarm were also proposed but were rejected at the last minute because of historical concerns.
Churchwarden Graham Todd said: “The restoration will be most welcome and with the new digital clock faces the town will benefit from both time and air temperature information, visible day and night.”
Special exceptional permission has to be sought to change the clock as the tower is a Grade II* listed building.
Burgess Hill Town Council has agreed for the work to be done and has now contacted the Parochial Church Council for permission to carry out the restoration.
Subject to formal approval by the Diocese Chancellor, the work should be completed in the summer.
David Carden, the town clerk at Burgess Hill Town Council, said: “The town council were keen to utilise the latest technology.
“One major advantage of the new electronic system is that the clock can be altered by means of a remote control from the churchyard, which saves climbing the steeple.”
Comments(12)
Spanners
says...
9:21am Thu 1 Apr 10
cheezburger
says...
9:22am Thu 1 Apr 10
Charismatic Andrew
says...
9:51am Thu 1 Apr 10
jyan
says...
10:00am Thu 1 Apr 10
corruptive
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11:06am Thu 1 Apr 10
Andre Spooner
says...
11:09am Thu 1 Apr 10
"Dear Geoffrey;
Clock-face-church-sh
ocker!! Slab-'o-pie and gravy horse weep! Disaster-o-Spoon'me-
do! Alas! Alas! Alas! Poor horse. What, Mr Theobald, shall you do?
I remain,
Andre Spooner"
Eyes On The 3rd Floor
says...
11:48am Thu 1 Apr 10
Security word: send-wood
puddingandpi
says...
12:45pm Thu 1 Apr 10
BringBackGoodGrammar
says...
1:27pm Thu 1 Apr 10
Andre Spooner wrote:sorry to burst your bubble Andre, but if you spoke to your horse this afternoon, and the post was made at 11-09, then clearly there is one april fool too many somewhere.....
THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!! How dare they replace a beautiful old clock like that with some kind of blinking digital display! I mentioned this incident to my Mighty Horse this afternoon and he wept salty tears of true grief! For shame! I cannot believe that people would do this! I am composing a furious letter to Geoffrey Theobald. It goes like this, "Dear Geoffrey; Clock-face-church-sh ocker!! Slab-'o-pie and gravy horse weep! Disaster-o-Spoon'me- do! Alas! Alas! Alas! Poor horse. What, Mr Theobald, shall you do? I remain, Andre Spooner"
S-W : pull-legs
Charismatic Andrew
says...
1:42pm Thu 1 Apr 10
BringBackGoodGrammar wrote:I like the way you question the slight time discrepancy rather than the fact that dear old Andre had a conversation with his horse.
Andre Spooner wrote: THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!! How dare they replace a beautiful old clock like that with some kind of blinking digital display! I mentioned this incident to my Mighty Horse this afternoon and he wept salty tears of true grief! For shame! I cannot believe that people would do this! I am composing a furious letter to Geoffrey Theobald. It goes like this, "Dear Geoffrey; Clock-face-church-sh ocker!! Slab-'o-pie and gravy horse weep! Disaster-o-Spoon'me- do! Alas! Alas! Alas! Poor horse. What, Mr Theobald, shall you do? I remain, Andre Spooner"sorry to burst your bubble Andre, but if you spoke to your horse this afternoon, and the post was made at 11-09, then clearly there is one april fool too many somewhere..... S-W : pull-legs
Andre Spooner
says...
2:06pm Thu 1 Apr 10
Wow, my security word was "Dick-Van-Dyke-A-Cor
oner-Who-Solves-Crim
es-And-His-Son-Playi
ng-His-On-Screen-Son
"! WOW.
Mike D P says...
9:08am Thu 1 Apr 10