He survived weather and war
You can’t escape time in York. Many buildings in the city centre boast handsome clocks, although beware: not all are accurate and some have been stuck at the same hour for months, if not years.
One of the most distinctive is the clock on Coney Street, attached to what remains of St Martin le Grand Church. It is topped by the Little Admiral, who, come rain or shine, takes a sighting of the sun with his cross staff.
Info
Address St Martin le Grand, Coney Street, York YO1 9QL, +44 (0)1904 636512, www.stmartinsyork.org.uk, churchwarden@stmartinsyork.org.uk | Public Transport 8-minute walk from Tanner Row car park. Closest bus stop: Museum Street | Tip Other York clocks to look out for are on the De Grey Rooms, Exhibition Square, above Barnitts on Colliergate, and on the corner of George Hudson Street and Tanner Row.
It is only the latest in a long line of timepieces at the 11th-century church. The first clock was installed in 1688, and possessed a curious dial decorated with Archimedes pointing to the sun. In 1733, a Mr Marsbrother was paid three years’ salary for winding it, a total sum of £6. A new clock was installed in 1754, only to have its case, dial, and ornaments replaced a mere 25 years later, which was when the Little Admiral first made his appearance. It is likely that he was gripping something different back then, possibly a quadrant, as the hands look to be in the wrong position for the staff he holds today.
Thomas Cooke, the renowned York instrument maker, was the next to be asked to supply a timepiece for St Martin, in 1855. This clock was designed to go for eight days without winding, to strike the hour and the quarters, and came with self-acting gaslights to illuminate both dials.
In 1942, a Second World War bombing raid on York set many Coney-Street buildings on fire, St Martin among them. Its interior was gutted, and Cooke’s mechanism was lost. In the 1960s, the surviving south aisle and tower were saved as part of the church’s restoration, which was dedicated to peace and reconciliation.
Also saved was the Little Admiral, who was placed on top of the drum of the present clock, powered by a new mechanism built by Geoffrey Newey in 1966. And so in many ways, this 200-year-old survivor of weather and war is a naval hero.
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