Plumtree St Mary

Clock

The church clock was given in 1889 by W E Burnside in memory of his mother. The clock has one face, to the west, with gilded hands and a diamond shaped/lozenge surround painted blue. It strikes the hours. The clock it probably replaced had no face or hands but simply chimed the hours. This clock, which was made by Richard Roe of Epperstone in 1686, is on loan to the British Horological Institute Museum at Upton, near Newark.

The specification of 20 February 1889 for the clock is in the Nottinghamshire archives. The clock was made by William Cope of 46 Ilkeston Road, Nottingham, for William E Burnside Esq. at an estimated cost of £75. It has:

A cast iron dial; figures raised and gilded; hands copper and gilded, with a cast iron mould to represent stonework; iron frame; gun metal wheels; index dial inside; dead beat pin escapement; pallets on pendulum to reduce friction; striking - main wheel 12 inches in diameter; second and a quarter pendulum; cylindrical bob weighing one and quarter hundredweight; any one wheel may be taken out with disarranging the rest; best wire ropes and iron pulleys.

The two large weights were removed in 1997 when the clock was converted to electric winding.

This clock mechanism was replaced by an electronic system in 2009 to make room for the two new bells.