Oxton St Peter and St Paul

Clock

The (north) clock face

The clock mechanism

The clock is in the west tower and has blue dials with white hands facing to the north and south.

Made by J B Joyce of Whitchurch, it is an eight-day clock, bought and installed in 1900 at a cost of £77. It strikes hourly on the 4th bell. Also in 1900 a new south face was added. The mechanism is fixed to the south wall on the second floor of the tower and is enclosed in a wood panel case. Initially wound manually, since 1979 it is now done automatically by electricity, backed up by a 100 hr standby battery.

A framed script on the tower wall in the nave reads:

The church clock was converted to run by electricity in 1979 by Dorcas Engineering Limited of Eaton Socon, through the generosity of Mrs Daisy Richardson, in memory of her husband, John Wesley Richardson, who was born and lived in Oxton from 1891-1971.

Earlier clocks

A clock is listed in an inventory of 1764, but by 1813 it was worn out and was replaced by a 24 hour clock. This was re-seated in 1841, but had also worn out by 1900 when the present clock was installed.

The old clock mechanism and case were removed from the tower in 1984 to provide a safer environment for the ringers, but one weight remains in the tower.