St Peter’s Clock

The clock was made by William Cryer of Carleton near Skipton and installed around the late 1830’s. It is considered to be of fine workmanship.

The distinctive shape of the two clock faces is strikingly similar to those of other Cryer clocks locally (at Burnsall and Carleton); the clock faces are large in proportion to the size of the tower. It is thought to have been the last of this group of clocks to have been installed.

St Peter’s clock has the same escapement mechanism as the Cryer clock at Carleton. (Each swing of the pendulum releases the escape wheel, so that the clock’s gear train advances (or “escapes”) by a fixed amount. This allows the clock’s hand to move forward at a steady rate. Then the escapement locks the escape wheel until the pendulum swings again. The locking is what makes the characteristic “tick” sound in mechanical clocks.)

The clock at St Peter’s has a very long pendulum, and the action was described by a visiting horologist as “mesmeric”.

With thanks to Steve and Darlah Thomas of Inbeat Publications for photographs and additional information about the clock at St Peter’s.

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