For over a hundred years St James’s tower clock has watched over the people of West Teignmouth – and, indeed, has been many residents’ primary regulator of time as it chimes its way unceasingly every fifteen minutes.
The clock was manufactured by John Smith & Sons of Midland Clock Works (now Smith of Derby Ltd and part of the Smith of Derby Group of clockmaking companies) in 1896 having been ordered by the then churchwarden, W T Jordan esq, at a cost of £153.0s.0d!
The clock takes the form of a flat bed movement incorporating hour strike and quarter Westminster chimes. Interestingly, although the ledger states ‘Cambridge Chimes’ Westminster Quarters is the most common name for a melody used by a set of clock bells to chime on each quarter hour. The number of chime sets matches the number of quarter hours that have passed. It is also known as the Westminster Chimes or the Cambridge Quarters from its place of origin, the Church of St Mary the Great, Cambridge.
The movement has a double three-legged gravity escapement with pendulum action driving the 3 x 5’6” diameter cast iron skeleton dials that are finished black with quarter ornate spandrels. The dials are fixed into position by means of 3 L-shaped brackets that hold the dials 4½” away from the wall and are fixed into the stonework using cement.
The hands, Roman numerals, outer minute marks and quarter spandrels are gilded using 23½ carat double thickness gold leaf which in clean air conditions can last up to 25 years as opposed to 10-15 years using gold paint.
For over a hundred years the clock was wound by hand every day, but in March 2010 Smith of Derby converted the movement to autowinding using their AW8 system that makes the clock automatic i.e. no hand winding needed although minor timekeeping regulation is still required periodically.
In 2016 an inspection of the clock faces revealed that the mountings were showing signs of corrosion and needed to be replaced to prepare the clock for another century (and more) of faithful service. This had also damaged the stonework and emergency temporary repairs were undertaken to secure the safety of the west-facing clock face.
The permanent repairs that followed included removing all three dials, and then refitting them using stainless steel fixings. Each clock face was also sandblasted, repainted and re-gilded before being hoisted back into position. Our friends at West Access Conservation (rope access specialists) carried out this project.
The total project cost for this work was approximately £8600 and the PCC is grateful to all those who contributed to the costs of that work
More recently, in 2021, further automation was installed to ensure that the clock runs to time without regular manual adjustment. And we hope that the clock will now continue to keeping time for and in our community for years and generations to come.
The clock is regularly maintained by Smith of Derby, successors to the clockmakers who originally built and installed it.
To contribute to the ongoing costs on the clock's upkeep and maintenance please donate online at our CAF Bank page, or create a regular donation through the Parish Giving Scheme or contact the PCC Treasurer for more information.