Corbridge church clock goes automatic after 125 years

A church clock that has been wound manually four times a week for 125 years has gone automatic.

The new winder has been installed at St Andrew's Church in Corbridge, Northumberland, replacing the manually wound mechanism installed in 1897.

A church spokeswoman said the manual winding relied on a rota of volunteers using "strenuous effort".

Work on the new £7,000 system started on Wednesday and took about three days to install.

The church in the centre of Corbridge was built in the 7th Century with the tower added in the 11th.

The spokeswoman said the clock needed to be wound three or four times a week meaning "a regular commitment and a lot of work" for the volunteers.

She said they had to climb 15 stone stairs and 45 steep ship-ladder-style steps and then use a heavy crank handle to turn three separate winders controlling the time, hour strike and quarter chime, "all of which requires strenuous effort".

"Although the stairs, steps and handrails are in good order, the climb and the effort of winding are a potential safety hazard for our volunteers and one which we have been eager to avoid," she said.

The new system was funded by Corbridge's parish council, women's institute and village trust as well as the Allchurches Trust, Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust and the Ecclesiastical Trust.

It has been installed by the Cumbria Clock Company,

"It feels like the end of an era for our volunteers, although they are now spared the onerous responsibility," the spokeswoman said.

She said volunteers will "still be needed to check the clock every few weeks to make sure that all is well and to change the time twice a year when the clocks go forwards and back".

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