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Built in 1902 in memory of Potto Brown's son George William, the Clock Tower stands in "The Green" (in Houghton).
It was designed by Charles Whymper and the thatched shelter was built by a local builder, Mr G Page of Buckden.
The two faced clock itself was made by Mr J R Ingram of St Ives. The clock is still clockwork and has to be wound weekly.
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Houghton Clock |
In front of the Clock Tower stands the Village Pump, a fine example of the Gothic style of the Victorian era, when it was built. This type of handpump replaced open wells at the beginning of the 19th Century, a development that reduced the source of widespread infection and disease . This particular pump was made by John Warner and Son of Cripplegate, London and was
donated by Potto Brown.
The Clock Tower is listed Grade II and was re-thatched in 1998.
I am grateful to Bob Walker for allowing me to have a peek inside the innards of the clock mechanism - and pretty interesting it is too ..
Click on the thumbnails to see the big picture: |
Things that surprised me was the length of the pendulum, the size of the weights that Bob has to wind up to the top of the tower every week, and the volume of the bells when it hit 10 o'clock.
Notice the date of the mechanism - 1902 and the nut on the pendulum to correct a small discrepency in the time - I believe Big Ben uses old Pennies, but nuts are cheaper :o)
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On the Isle of Mull, there is a similar clock tower on the Seafront of Tobermory.
This was constructed from the proceeds of a bequest from Isabella Lucy Bishop, formerly Isabella Bird, a native of Houghton, in memory of her sister, Henrietta who died of typhoid in 1880. The Tobermory clock tower was also designed my Charles Whymper but, as you can see, has no thatched shelter.
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Tobermory Clock
Thanks to Nick Holmes for information and photos of the Tobermory clock. |
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All text © Eddie Winter 2005-10.
If you want to use any images from this site, feel free, but please acknowledge their source.
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