Time Eternal - Oldest Working Clock

Salisbury cathedral

Salisbury cathedral clock is one of the oldest working timepieces in the world. We thought you may be interested in this nugget of information which also serves to remind us of our significant associations with horology and time keeping in the UK.

The clock is thought to date from 1386 and fell out of use for many years until it's restoration in 1956. As was common with many early church clocks the Salisbury machine does not drive hands on a face, but instead marks time by ringing the cathedrals tower bells by way of a striking train. At the time of its introduction the church had a much more significant place in the fabric of English society and culture than it does today, the clock was more important for its function as a device to remind the congregation(s) of the timings or intervals between the seven routine daily services rather than being an aid to other aspects of life which would have continued to rely on more instinctive ideas of time, if at all.

It is interesting to consider whether the assertion of the routines of religious worship or the technicalities of maritime navigation were the first practical motives for the social and industrial use of clocks.