britsh united clock company brass clock double spring

The only real superpower of the Victorian era, Englands reach was due to its domination of the sea.

In the late 15th century, when Christopher Columbus was exploring the globe, primitive sand or sandglass clocks were used to mark time in half-hour increments.

Since the. Continue Reading Navigation Home Page Categories Show Tell Appraisals Help FAQs Magazine Fashion Design Culture Home Machines Collectibles About Us Who We Are Contact Barnebys Follow Us 20072021 Auctions Online USA Ltd Terms of Use Privacy Policy.

Our traditional bells include antique Church or school bells, wall mounted and nautical bells in a range of bell metals such as bronze and iron.

We stock a selection of turret clock movements, Church clocks, clock faces and a range of vintage factory or platform clocks.

We also have weathervanes, clock towers and reclaimed cupolas.

Although Barry was the chief architect of the Palace, he turned to Augustus Pugin for the design of the clock tower, which resembles earlier Pugin designs, including one for Scarisbrick Hall.

The design for the Clock Tower was Pugins last design before his final descent into madness and death, and Pugin himself wrote, at the time of Barrys last visit to him to collect the drawings: I never worked so hard in my life for Mr Barry for tomorrow I render all the designs for finishing his bell tower it is beautiful.

The tower is designed in Pugins celebrated Gothic Revival style, and is 96.3 metres (315.9 ft) high.

The remainder of the towers height is a framed spire of cast iron.

The tower is founded on a 15-metre (49 ft) square raft, made of 3-metre (9.8 ft) thick concrete, at a depth of 4 metres (13 ft) below ground level.

The interior volume of the tower is 4,650 cubic metres (164,200 cubic feet).

Due to thermal effects it oscillates annually by a few millimetres east and west.

However, the builders of the Allen-Bradley Clock Tower did not add chimes to the clock, so the Great Clock of Westminster still holds the title of the worlds largest four-faced chiming clock.

The hour hand is 2.7 metres (9 ft) long and the minute hand is 4.3 metres (14 ft) long.

Some of the glass pieces may be removed for inspection of the hands.

At the base of each clock face in gilt letters is the Latin inscription DOMINE SALVAM FAC REGINAM NOSTRAM VICTORIAM PRIMAM, which means O Lord, keep safe our Queen Victoria the First.

The idiom of putting a penny on, with the meaning of slowing down, sprang from the method of fine-tuning the clocks pendulum.

On top of the pendulum is a small stack of old penny coins; these are to adjust the time of the clock.

Adding or subtracting coins has the effect of minutely altering the position of the pendulums centre of mass, the effective length of the pendulum rod and hence the rate at which the pendulum swings.

Adding or removing a penny will change the clocks speed by 0.4 second per day.

During The Blitz, the Palace of Westminster was hit by German bombing, on 10 May 1941; a bombing raid damaged two of the clock faces and sections of the towers stepped roof and destroyed the House of Commons chamber.

Architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott designed a new five-floor block.

Two floors are occupied by the current chamber which was used for the first time on 26 October 1950.

Despite the heavy bombing the clock ran accurately and chimed throughout the Blitz.

Click Here To View Our Antique Turret Clocks That We Have For Sale.

Britsh United Clock Company Brass Clock Double Spring