THE CLOCK OF ST IVES PARISH CHURCH
The parish church of St Ives, dedicated to St Ia, St Peter and St Andrew, is situated on the site of a ‘humble oratory’, believed to have been founded by St Ia. This was later replaced by a chapel, the foundations of which are thought to be those of the present church building.
Until the end of the 14th century the chapelries of St Ives and Towednack were attached to the mother church of Lelant, dedicated to St Uny. This necessitated the inhabitants of these settlements travelling to Lelant for masses, as well as christenings, marriages and funerals. At this stage the population of St Ives was growing rapidly, and this increase, along with the inconvenience of having to travel to Lelant for significant religious events, led to the town applying to the relevant authorities for permission to build their own church. This was granted in 1410. Building works began that year, taking just over 16 years to complete. The church was consecrated on St Ia Day (3rd February) in 1434.
From the outset the townspeople had grand ideas. Their church was to have a tower almost 120 feet high, later recognized as ‘remarkably high for Cornwall’, and ‘one of the finest in the county’. The louvered apertures indicate that the tower always had bells; likewise the presence of bells indicates that there was some form of clock mechanism. (The medieval Latin word for ‘bell’ is ‘clocca’, most probably derived from a Celtic root.)
As the great and the good of the town had gone to such lengths to achieve their grandiose ideas, it can be assumed that even in 1434 there was some form of telling the time. This was probably a verge and foliot escapement, the earliest form of mechanical-clock escapement consisting of a crossbar with adjustable weights for regulating the rate of oscillation of a verge or vertical spindle. The sounding of the bells would give form and organization to the townsfolk’s lives. Many people, even today, equate the clock with the dials and the bells, since that is what they see and hear, rather than with the actual mechanism (further information about the bells can be found in endnote [i]).
There is evidence that the tower floors have been altered over time, and it may be that the changing nature of the clock necessitated some of these alterations. Pendulum mechanisms were developed in the second half of the 17th century, and the energy required to ring bells (in 1721 there were five of them) needed a long drop for the ascending and descending weights. The present clock, which dates from 1933, had a pendulum drop of around 60 feet.
St Ives Times January 20th 1922
As can be seen above, extracts from the Borough Records show evidence of regular maintenance of the clock from 1577. It is not clear when the first pendulum clock was installed in the church; this new type of mechanism began to be fitted to church clocks around 1670. Other documents mention sums for ‘washing/cleaning/winding’ and ‘Church cleaning and clock winding and washing surplices’.
The location of St Ives was somewhat disadvantageous to the clock mechanism; not only were sand, salt and storms detrimental to its workings, but in 1868 the vicar was recorded as remarking ‘the smell of fish was bad enough to stop the ... clock’. In the 1904 List of Property and Inventory of Moveable Furniture, the then vicar noted ‘Clock Old: one hand only: bad time-keeper’. By 1922, the incumbent commented (‘after expert examination’), ‘The old town clock is on its last legs and might cease working at any time’ (endnote [ii])
This is not to suggest that there was little attention paid to the clock over the years. In 1887 two firms of clockmakers were invited to submit estimates for the cost of improving the clock as a ‘fitting Memorial of [Queen Victoria’s] Jubilee Year; these were a modest £59 and £65, to include the manufacturing of four copper dials. However, Mr J B Anthony, ‘who possesses more technical knowledge of the Clock than anyone in the town’ was of the opinion that the addition of three dials, and a minute hand, would be beyond what the clock machinery could support. In 1907, the old single dial, apparently around 90 years old, made of pitch-pine, was
replaced.
Dedication plaque in St Ia’s Church
Photo C Henry
Dedication booklet
St Ives Archive
It was not until the early 1930s that the generosity of Alderman Craze, a former mayor of St Ives, made the replacement of the ‘very old, worn-out and defaced’ clock mechanism possible, by ‘the oldest and best clockmakers in the land – Messrs Joyce of Whitchurch, Salop’. Included in these works was the instalment of two cast iron dials, six feet in diameter. Realizing that the fisherfolk lacked a dial facing the harbour, Alderman Craze funded a third dial (see endnote [iii]). The new clock gave ‘unqualified satisfaction to the inhabitants generally’. The clock was ordered in 1933 and fitted in 1934 at a cost of £197 10s and £35 for the later dial. The dedication reads: “[it] replaces the old clock which for two hundred years has served the people of St Ives”.
The old clock was put on display to raise funds for the local Conservative Association in an exhibition of ‘Fine Antiques and Curios’. It was then offered to the Old Cornwall Society but they declined the gift because of their lack of storage facilities. At present it is not known what happened to the clock thereafter.
The new mechanism has been diligently maintained for many years, with regular servicing from Smith of Derby (who took over Joyce of Whitchurch in 1965). The clock has continued to serve the people of St Ives, with electric auto-winders being added in the second half of the 20th century; these were renewed at least twice. However, the annual maintenance inspection in 2020 noted that the clock mechanism was in a parlous state. Birds had gained access to the belfry and excrement was dropping into the mechanism, which was also suffering from extensive rust. The auto-winders were well also past their replacement date.
The poor condition of the bells and clock
Photos C Henry
The unsightly and malfunctioning auto winders
Photo C Henry
Fundraising for this work began in autumn 2021 and the repair work started the following April. The mechanism and dials were dismantled and taken to the workshop in Derby to be cleaned, mended or replaced. The refit took place in July 2020, when an automatic regulator was also installed. Hopefully this will keep the clock going for another hundred years.
The newly cleaned and renovated clock mechanism
Photo C Henry
Carmel Henry April 2023
FURTHER READING
Matthews, J H (1892, reprinted 2003) A History of the Parishes of Saint Ives, Lelant, Towednack and Zennor
Rock, H (2008) Church Clocks
Thomas, S & D (2013) Joyce of Whitchurch, Clockmakers 1690 - 1965
[i] The two present bells date from 1830. The larger is 48 inches (122 cm) in diameter and inscribed ‘James Halse Esq. M.P., Matthew Major, Thomas Tremearne Junr + William Hichens, Church Wardens S. Ives. June 1830. Js Oaley fecit. The inscription on the second bell, which is 38 inches (91 cm) in diameter, reads ‘Richard Hichens Esq. Mayor, M.M.T.T. Junr + M.H, Church Wardens. Copper House Foundry. Jas Oaley Maker. 9 June 1830. A local legend tells that St Ia (who did, after all, come over from Ireland on a leaf) sent eight bells which were installed miraculously, and rang out on Christmas Eve to welcome the Christ Child.
[ii] It is unusual to see the clock referred to as ‘the town clock’. In St Ives is it widely acknowledged that when the clock is working, it is the town clock, when it is not, it is the church clock.
[iii] A St Ives myth suggests that there is no dial on the east elevation because there was no love lost between the benefactor and the fishing community. This is somewhat unfair to Alderman Craze. There would be no need for a dial facing out to sea, while the north dial overlooks the harbour, which would be of use to those working there. Likewise, the north aisle in the church, known as the fishermen’s aisle, has only plain glass, allowing a clear view of the harbour. Incidentally, the north dial suffers most from the effects of the weather, since facing north it never gets a chance to dry out.
Penwith Local History Group
Edited by
Sally Corbet
price £10
plus p&p