The Clock

Wimborne Minster has a very old clock, located on the wall in the baptistry. Its age is uncertain - it probably dates from the late 1300s. It is first mentioned in accounts from 1409, when 6s. 8d was paid to a carpenter to build a case for the clock with lock & key. "cofro pro la orloge un cum serur cu clau"

The clock shows the earth as a dark blue ball in the center with the sun going around it, pointing out the time on a 24-hour dial. The clock also tells the position and phase of the moon.

The clock is driven by "modern" works, made in 1743 and kept in the belltower above. The works turn a shaft which comes into the top of the clock case. The works also ring bells every quarter hour. The quarter-hour chime is rung by a figure of a Grenadier Guard on the outside of the belltower, called the "Quarter Jack".

An accurate working model of the clock, works, and bells is in a case in the baptistry. This was made by the Wimborne clockmaker William Kerridge in 1916 and was displayed in the window of his shop. It was donated to the Minster in 1951.

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