Bampton Church Clock

The church clock in Bampton, Devon is nearly 100 years old. It has now been modified to replace a team of clock-winders with automatic winding motors and accurate timekeeping electronics. Here's how. (In December 2019 the 100th birthday was reached, and the viewings of this video clocked up over 100k! Thanks to all for your support).

[@bamptonhumph]

Astonishingly this little video has just passed a quarter of a million viewings. It's very good to know that a lot of people out there appreciate old timepieces.

[@westelaudio943]

Well, an electromechanical clock wound by motors isn't a new idea at all, and well within the possibility of 1919 - but maybe this town didn't have no electricity yet. However, radio controlling the clock by influencing the pendulum frequency through inductors is quite genius, as it allows nearly perfect accuracy while keeping the whole original movement intact and in operation. Tremendous job guys. Just feeling sorry for the team whose jobs once again got automated away.

[@andycap6786]

Brilliant filming and brilliant clear and concise commentary. Thank you.

[@user-ry5fo5nr4d]

Wow this is really interesting, this shows that even an old clock like this can be modified to a certain extant using the radio frequently to keep exact time that is brilliant. I love things like this find them really interesting.

[@kevinjoyce5076]

My son loves this church and we're going on holiday to Devon to see the church.

[@jimgoodwin6294]

Nice to see the heartbeat of Bampton is provided by Smiths of Derby. I have a grandfather clock made about 100 years prior by the same company at Lodfin.

[@bamptonhumph]

Excellent Jim!

[@terrystephens1102]

Wonderful, let us hope the clock has many more years of service.👌👏👏👏👏

[@simonmorris3964]

Better than ripping out the works and fitting direct drive sync motors. This system helps the humans maintain the clock......very good.

[@brianthomas8247]

I have enjoyed this film very much. fascinating to see the workings. Well done - and such a clear commentary.

[@matthewnelson713]

all of yer british vocabulary has confused this American. why cant you say well done good show. ; }

[@fightingbear8537]

Thank you for the video, a great part of our history.

[@Tricyklist]

What a brilliant video! Clear, precise, beautifully filmed and narrated. A lesson to us all! Ignore the pedants!

[@peterstampel8305]

Szia

[@nancyhobson9710]

Yes, ignore the pendants! A,very clear and concisely narrated video. The clock and it's works - British workmanship at it's best

[@bamptonhumph]

Thanks!

[@palmerjohnson4982]

Thank you for this very interesting and informative video. Extremely interesting and satisfying to watch the clock in operation.

[@RafaFC234]

The mechanism is a beautiful blue and yellow, i like it

[@davidnissim9203]

The clock tower at Stanford University has the exact same chimes. Not just the Westminster-style chimes, but the same key as this tower, for both the quarter chimes and the hour chime.

[@bamptonhumph]

Well I guess it is basically the Westminster chimes, but sounds different depending upon the size of the bells. Our bells are a little smaller than those in London!

[@kevinsims2254]

I’ve seen (and heard) the Stanford clock when the tower was new. I understand it was in the tower of the chapel and survived the old tower’s collapse after an earthquake. Nearby is the Hoover Tower which houses a 49-bell carillon.

[@gerdschirmacher7352]

Oh. Das ist eine schöne Uhr und noch voll Mechanich. Schön zu sehen wie die Gewichte hoch gekurbelt werden. Das Video gefällt mir. Ich ziehe selbst noch eine Weule Uhr auf und reguliere die an der Pendelscheibe sehr feinfühlig und genau ein.

[@Audiomonkscollective]

Nice to hear from you. Thanks

[@johnfox4691]

very good film, thank you!

[@jacobparry6212]

It may not be original but it's good to know that the clock is still working so many don't to day

[@984francis]

Delightful. Thank you.

[@x2ron612]

I like the colours of the mechanism great video

[@tawtaw441]

Great little video! Don't forget to celebrate St George's Day on Monday!

[@bijankumar2922]

Wonderful one n I love it !

[@jameswaddell2472]

3:25 This is whats sad. No one can be bothered to take care of these beautiful pieces of engineering anymore. I have over 150 wind up non electric clocks. I have to wind them once a week, and make sure they are all well oiled and on time. In winding and looking after it, you come to have a relationship with it. If it's just there to look at, then you might as well just have a fully electric one. Again, sometimes leaving history unchanged is best.

[@frederictonheritagegwt964]

That's not it... it is extremely difficult especially on older people, I wind the clock at my church and it is quite the work. So it's not that they don't want to care for it, but they may not be able to...

[@madezra64]

There's nothing wrong with this sort of innovation. Keeping that clock running was obviously a full time CHORE and not a real job that the Church could afford 14 people to maintain. That's a lot of labor and a lot of man hours for a Church to fund by itself. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the aspect of keeping time and caring for valuable pieces of work like you do. But in this instance, the use of technology here was to preserve the clock and its heritage, not to undermine or take away from its historical value. All they did was automate the process it takes to keep it running and in doing so were able to make it even better by adding an electronic time keeper so it remains as accurate as a digital to clock while still remaining analog in its primary mechanisms :)

[@jimgoodwin6294]

I tend to agree with that - I love things left just the way they were created. There is only ever one original......

[@vendelinvonhelstein8965]

+

[@slome815]

@@madezra64 The fact that it needs fourteen people really suprises me, I guess they must just do it so every person only has to wind it once every month or so. It is certainly not a full time job to maintain a clock like this. Near where I live there is a famous clock tower (zimmertoren, Lier). This clock has 1 caretaker, who also does the cleaning and other maintance of the tower and museum. You just know that when you automate something like this, sooner or later it will no longer get regular lubrication and maintanance.

[@pimperneldog]

That is a great film for someone who loves clocks, as I do, and what a glorious English village Bampton is. I hope the 14-strong winding team has found another way to keep fit and am writing this on the day I understand work is about to start on the Elizabeth Tower, which will include installation of a lift!

[@bamptonhumph]

Thanks for this. Yes I'm sure the redundant team of clock-winders are now jogging, doing press-ups, and working hard in the town for 'Bampton in Bloom'! Being the person who still keeps an eye on the mechanism, the spiral stone steps keep me in trim. Well slightly.

[@pimperneldog]

I shall look up 'Bampton in Bloom' and think the 'keepers of Big Ben' will need to take a leaf out of your team's book!

[@m8die319]

i like the combination of old and new there.

[@grumpyg9350]

Fun to watch👍👍👍👍👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@allanegleston4931]

if we loose electricity, wed have to go back to these ways !!!!. otherwis , thanks for posting.

[@bamptonhumph]

Our clock seems to carry on quite happily for a few hours during power cuts! Obviously if it were a very long outage we'd have to go and swing the pendulum to restart it...

[@clintcountryman4849]

That's awesome

[@GrnArrow092]

This looks like a miniature version of Big Ben's clock mechanism in London.

[@stephenphillip5656]

That's exactly what it is. Church clocks (and other public clocks such as town halls etc) follow this design in broad terms.

[@martianVR2]

Big ben

[@Champ1964]

NO WEAR ADVANTAGE, The amount of pressure needed to operate the clock should never change. When you change the configuration of a compound weight fall arrangement to have a longer or shorter run time , The weight will vary. So basically if you have a 80 foot drop directly below the works, You would need , say 40 pounds, But if you compound the cable to fall half the distance you have to double the weight to say 80 pounds. The amount of pressure at the point where the cable pulls the gear is the same. Consistently the same wear.

[@cheezyslider]

Exactly! and the church is £5-10 grand out of pocket for not needed gismo's. Thanks for coming!

[@ridermak4111]

Champ1964 Forgive my ignorance, but how then did they get away with reducing the weights that much. I get the weight pressure needed, but I can’t seem to wrap my brain around this situation.

[@donaldasayers]

@@ridermak4111 There's epicyclic gearing inside the cable drums, the result is a small weight falling much further for each tick.

[@alexjohnward]

@@ridermak4111 by removing pulleys, the lighter weights are allowed to drop faster, thus it doesn't have an 8 day energy storage anymore.

[@richardcoles2432]

I wind our village clock up which is similar to this once a week...1 small weight for the minutes & 1large weight for the hours chiming.

[@bamptonhumph]

+Richard Coles A good way to keep fit, I'm sure!

[@richardcoles2432]

+bamptonhumph I've taken on the job from my Dad, because he has had knee surgery & would find it a bit difficult to climb the spiral staircase.Yes it does keep me fit I guess..sometimes have to stop halfway on the big one now though to get a breath :)

[@ojofelixnm3608]

Be Still My Soul The Hour Is Hastening On. Wonderful old relics of days gone by.

[@user-di7nk7gz5w]

Can you tell me please , the name of the electronic engineer that connect the relay which is responsible for cynchronize the clock tower? Thank's.

[@bamptonhumph]

Yes it is Richard White Clocks. www.richardwhiteclocks.co.uk/regulators/precise-time-regulation

[@ojofelixnm3608]

All Through This Hour: Lord be Our Guide: So By Thy Power:No Foot Will Slide Westminster Chime

[@steveattfield8751]

Hi, have you thought what might happen if the clock is running slow, not through temperature variations but through another obstruction that would normally stop the clock. With the system you have in place there, is it liable to cause serious damage to the mechanism or the motion works as it forces the clock to keep working ???

[@bamptonhumph]

No probs with mechanism - we have it regularly serviced and it was done recently. It is an iron pendulum, and the coefficient of linear expansion more than explains any timing variations. Even though the tower walls are 4 feet thick, the temperature does vary quite a bit as the bells above are vented to the world on the floor above! The electronic bit doesn't really 'keep it going' but tweaks the timing by a gentle push or a gentle drag.

[@nenisyahrir1103]

♥

[@davidderivaz2210]

Bampton Church Clock

[@LCMNUNES1962]

ÓTIMO MECHANISM , BRASIL OK.

[@Gearz-365]

The clock will be 100 years old next year

[@virajbhoite7826]

Well illustration. Building needs maintenance particularly clock tower.

[@vasilis1380]

I wish I was a clock winder for my career choice.

[@BukuiZhao]

Please re-add the full weights, remove the motors and restore the old winding movement but keep the electronic timekeeping

[@HFrose-lu9oz]

What is the name of the ambient music?

[@bamptonhumph]

Haydn Symphony 101 (The Clock). It is given in the end titles.

[@29trent]

@@bamptonhumph Clever choice, but I'd much prefer to listen to the Haydn separately (and intact) and be able to hear the narration clearly and enjoy the sounds of the clock mechanism without that distraction. It's depressing to have to mute a video like this and rely on subtitles.

[@michaelroe2991]

that clock is a 100 yrs old today

[@bamptonhumph]

We have a special download to celebrate the birthday! www.bampton.org.uk/downloads/Heritage/Bampton%20church%20clock%20100.pdf

[@gordoncrook1155]

Go into Tiverton & sort Lowman Clock out not least recast the odd sounding clock bell like you have Bampton I waited for the Cruwys Morchard bus under Lowman clock for many years! Gordon Exmouth

[@bamptonhumph]

I understand that the company who service our clock are about to sort out the Lowman clock!

[@gordoncrook1155]

Yes but does that mean the bell the strike has been pretty grim I can remember at least 70years & was never good sound like a cracked BUCKET needs a new or recast bell for sure Gordon in Exmouth @@bamptonhumph

[@beedslolkuntus2070]

There are negative people in this comments section but amazing video really xD

[@wendymeers9082]

Westminster Chimes on the whole hour

[@andersonalexandrenevesdasi7180]

⌚😮😎👏👏👏👏👏

[@Rafaaa1111]

WHERE ARE THE BELLS?

[@deanmichaeljosephbabcock9098]

7:27

[@justinnaramor6050]

What is the mechanism that regulates how many times the bell rings when the clock strikes the hour? Seeing as how this thing is powered entirely mechanically (save for the electric motor that winds up the weights plus the electronic thing that occasionally adjusts the swinging rate of the pendulum to keep the clock in time when needed), something has to control how many times the bell rings for 1 o'clock, 2 o'clock and so on, and also something in the clock has to decide when it's time for the striking to begin. Can anyone attempt to explain this? This is something that's sort of puzzled me with mechanical clocks like this.

[@bamptonhumph]

It is all built into the mechanics of the clock, running just the same as it did 100 years ago. The timekeeping side of the clock on the left triggers the striking mechanism as the hour ticks through, and that side will strike 1 the first time, 2 the second etc and so on until 12 hours later it starts again.

[@justinnaramor6050]

@@bamptonhumph Right, that makes sense. But what, then, determines how many times the clock chimes for the particular hour (once for 1 o'clock, twice for 2 o'clock and so on)? Is there some kind of rotating wheel or something like that which determines that? Like maybe this wheel has pins, or holes, or something else which somehow regulates the number of times the bell should ring? I'm imagining that wheel or whatever would have to be first locked in place somehow so that it refuses to rotate, via some kind of "catch" or "locking pins" or something, until a gear or cam in the timekeeping part maybe pulls a lever that releases those "locking pins". That's what starts the striking process... that wheel that was once prevented from spinning can now finally spin. The opposite would then have to happen when it's time for the striking process to halt. This is probably rather complex and therefore difficult to explain, so I do apologize if I'm maybe asking too much. But I'm simply interested in trying to understand how this works. I should also mention that I'm visually impaired to the point of complete blindness, so that's likely the biggest reason I don't quite get how this works yet.

[@bamptonhumph]

@@justinnaramor6050 You are right, it is very difficult to explain! But what you say is basically how it works. The chimes are worked very much like a giant musical box with a cylinder with spaced pins, and levers and links to the bells above. After the hour chimes, the strike mechanism is triggered by a lever which allows a large cog wheel to rotate, and in the side of this wheel there are pins spaced so that another wheel can be released to create a bong every time it goes around. The spacing of the pins gives time for it to turn once, twice, three times, etc until the next pin arrives. Hope that helps.

[@justinnaramor6050]

@@bamptonhumph So, your description gives me the impression that this thing uses a "count wheel" to determine the number of strikes on the bell for the hour. I did some reading on how a chiming/striking clock works a little while ago and this is what was explained. Basically the count wheel is a wheel which has little notches cut into it. When the bell is not striking, a lever sits inside one of those notches. This essentially holds the gear train for the striking mechanism in place so that it cannot rotate. My understanding is that there's a complex system of levers in the timekeeping part which ultimately leads to this lever on the count wheel. When it's time for the hour strike, this system of levers essentially pulls the lever out of the notch in the counting wheel, allowing it and the gear train to rotate. The lever rides along on the top of the counting wheel. As the counting wheel continues to rotate, eventually another notch comes into contact with the lever; the lever is allowed to then slide into the notch, either because of an attached spring or simply because gravity takes over and allows it to naturally slide into the notch. This once again restricts the count wheel and the gear train from rotating. So it's the amount of space between these notches, along the circumference of the counting wheel, that determines how many times the bell rings; if there is a longer time between when the lever is pulled out of one notch and when another notch comes into contact with the lever and allows it to drop, the bell would ring more times, because the large wheel with the pins that activate the hammers which hit the bell is allowed to rotate for longer. Obviously the opposite thing happens if the space between the notches is shorter. So the amount of space between the notches only increases as the clock goes through its 1-to-12-hour sequence of operation. This kind of mechanism is actually fairly easy to understand, if you think about it. But I've also been made aware of another method for determining the number of bell rings for the hours, which is called a "rack and snail" mechanism. The way that works is a little more complex though. It has one particular advantage over the "count wheel" method though: part of this mechanism, the "snail" part, is attached directly to the shaft of the hour hand on the clock, so that any time the striking process happens, it's synchronized with the timekeeping mechanism. A downside of the "count wheel" mechanism is that it's entirely independent from the timekeeping part of the clock, so the 2 parts can become unsynchronized.

[@bamptonhumph]

@@justinnaramor6050 Your first description is pretty much spot-on for our church clock. And if the two sections of the clock do get out of sync it is quite easy to correct by manually flipping one of the levers to make it move on to the correct alignment. The rack and snail I do have in one of my wall clocks at home and presumably they don't work as well if scaled up to big machinery!

[@user-wc8fu9nh4x]

⚪️

[@user-xq1fy2zm9v]

Так так так так класс

[@CarlosRodriguez-mu1xx]

Looks like a grandfather church clock

[@haroldsmith8698]

THE FACTS ARE::There is nothing in this world for a chime recital on a Sunday from the Sant Mary's in the mountain in Virginia City in Nevada. I have heard them many times they came around the horn, so did the organ in the church it is inspiring to be hold you should go there, a lot of history in that area. I used to live there and have been all over the area. you have to be there to experience it, I lived there I had friends there. HAROLD WAYNE SMITH

[@DeepikaR-ko1ym]

Dude where's the chime

[@tonyletsplay6785]

How the bells look like

[@bamptonhumph]

There's a little bit about the bells at bampton.org.uk/ringers.html

[@antiquesandclocks.inc.8368]

Why would you replace a beautiful piece of history?

[@paulhorn2665]

Sad that it was automated at the end. Its like taken its soul :-( . A turnus of 14 people wasnt bad or not? With this system statistically everyone had to wind only every 14 days or so...

[@EstCrossings]

Aaand the video got hit by a performance claim. Why even have all the famous composers work in the public domain when it doesn't matter anyway.

[@RoseSharon7777]

And pray the electricity never goes out.

[@donaldasayers]

It will run for a good while without electricity, the motors keep the weights near the top of the tower, but there is a fair reserve drop.

[@organbuilder272]

I have a feeling why these were changed to automatic. Not because no one wanted to do it. But those who had the responsibility to wind the clock took it as a personal chore and a task which they, and they alone, could do. Instead of teaching anyone to do it, they kep it as the "Bell Winder's secret. So they church ended the confusion and jelousy.

[@bamptonhumph]

Think that may have been true in the past, but in out case we had a 'team' of a dozen or so who wound for a month at a time. To me, how the clock is wound is not very relevant, as long as the mechanism has the TLC and attention it deserves to keep it running for the future.

[@jimgoodwin6294]

I agree, these "chores" could have been passed on - maybe the scouts or similar?

[@fritzhorton1418]

@@bamptonhumphAbsolutely brilliant solution to a vexing problem. Before everyone knew the precise (satellite) time by glancing at his/her phone, the time of day was often announced by the town/village clock. The variations shown in the graph in the video show that the winders could not possibly adjust the clock as often as needed to be as accurate as today's handheld devices. Way too many trips up and down those winding (sorry, but...) steps would be necessary, so say the least. With that understanding, the automatic adjuster brings the clock and its tolling bells into the 21st century. As a result, maybe fewer town citizens will need to glance at their phones quite as often!

[@gorp27]

I was wondering how they were going to get the electronic time keeper to add or remove pennies from the pendulum but they went and butchered the job by using magnets instead.

[@TexasRailfan2008]

they should still wind up the mechanism by hand

[@fredmills368]

Would you want to run up those stairs every two days and do it?

[@stephenphillip5656]

Are you volunteering?

[@hanaqueen967]

2:52 the bells are ringing

[@joebutterman3084]

I think the fourteen winders and the pennies was far and away the superior system.

[@Microbat-wm6bb]

1:22 is nobody explaining about this he small tortoiseshell butterfly that’s in the clock room

[@gagatube]

The electric winders are nice if your winding team really doesn't want to, or can't, do the work anymore, but the electromagnet pulse do-dah for regulation is a ghastly out-of-character bit of overkill. It's the church clock - does anyone really care if it's 5seconds late or early? Besides a skilled clockmaker could probably reduce that to a second or two with a few adjustments and some proper maintenance. Thank you for the video though, most interesting.

[@vendelinvonhelstein8965]

Видео о том, как испортили прекрасные часы...

[@MagnetOnlyMotors]

The add on features look done by a student.

[@keliarodriguez3672]

&

[@archiebald4717]

What a pity.

[@Nautical_Parsnip]

That's sad

[@benormerod860]

Fablewolf What’s Sad

[@donaldasayers]

In my experience these auto wind units are not reliable.

[@bamptonhumph]

Ours has been working for quite a number of years now with no problems at all. The units do get serviced, along with the clock mechanism, annually.

[@johndowd7010]

What a shame...they ruined it..

[@patrickbrumm4120]

why doesn't Jesus power it?

[@robertgift]

Let's be stupid and cover the bells, clock-ticking and other sounds with unneeded music. We see how big the weight is without reference to anything? Get someone with an IQ higher than the total of the numbers on the clock face to make this video.

[@user-zd6gb4he1j]

👎👎

[@allanegleston4931]

still a lovevly clcok. tick tock bamptonhumph