National Scale Mapping of Early Modern Parish Clocks

These maps cover English parishes with surviving churchwardens’ accounts from before 1700. It provides both a view of the numbers of extant accounts, and an overview of the evidence they provide about church clocks and time signals.

Clocks through time

The main purpose of this page is an introduction to the interactive mapping that this website has developed. The dissemination of data for scholarly use is an important role, and here we present the first of a series of web pages. Please follow this link to access the English Parish Clocks database.

The following maps were constructed using the software language MapServer. This is a powerful geographic tool that allows not only the manipulation of datasets by anonymous web-users, but the derivation of parts of databases and metadata attached to the locations of these. The files are run from a separate server, running the Linux operating system.

There are many ways to use these search files. The first is the most straight-forward, setting the map-mode to browse. Using the pan and zoom capabilities, you can explore the English coverage of the time databases.

By using the zoom function, the names of individual entries will be come apparent when your map is below a mapping scale (usually 1: 1 000 000). If the name of the point isn't readily visible, you may have to zoom to a greater scale.

If you change the map-mode to query, you can click near at or near your chosen data point. This will then interrogate the geographical associated with that entry and return one of a series of values for the CWA (see box) that indicate the presence or absence of bells, chimes, dials, etc. for the decades between 1500-1690s.

If you are interested in more than one entry for an area, you can alter the map-mode to nquery. These will return searches for any data points within the range of the tolerance values. The tolerance values indicated for the two interrogated layers are the range in metres from the click point on the map. Increasing these values should increase the number of results that are returned.

Database queries

You can search the database without the need for any spatial linkage. It is possible to search for the presence of clocks and chimes throughout the database. Using the itemquery you can search for specific text or numerical strings within the data. If you're interested in data for parish records that started in the mid-16th Century, firstly set the map-mode to itemquery. Then set the query layer to Cities (case is important), the query item is FIRST, then the string to 1555. This should return a result for Abingdon St Helen in Berkshire. If you then change the map-mode to itemnquery, the database should return a the remaining four queries whose records started in that year.

Codes to clock values in Churchwarden's accounts in decades of the 1500-1690

The individual code numbers, of which there are well over one hundred, denote different combinations of clock-elements and documented features of signalling. The most basic indications are of the presence or absence of first, surviving documentation, and second, of a working church clock, for the decade in question. The code “99” shows no churchwardens accounts for the decade, while all codes ending in zero show that no working clock is mentioned in churchwardens’ accounts. Otherwise, all numbers indicate the presence of a working clock. The minimal form of signalling was hour-striking, and the codes distinguish several other facets of time-indication.

Codes ending in 2 indicate the additional presence of a chiming mechanism. Codes ending in 3 indicate the additional presence of a clock-dial on the church exterior. Note that in most cases this bore an hour-hand only. Codes ending in 4 indicate the additional presence of both chimes and an exterior clock-dial. Other codes refer to additional features of clock mechanisms (such as a pendulum; or additional wheel-work for quarter-hour striking); of dial-indication (e.g. the presence of a minute-hand); or of additional emphasis on certain hours by the manual ringing of longer-duration signals, especially the morning ‘day-bell’ or evening curfew. Several of these topics are further discussed elsewhere in these pages.

0 no clock
1 clock
2 clock & chimes
3 clock with dial
4 clock with chimes and dial
5
6 quarter(-striking) clock, & chimes
8 quarter(-striking) clock
9 clock previously and later, but not disaggregated in brief summary spending
10 clock previously and later, but not disaggregated in brief summary spending
11 clock with pendulum
12 clock with pendulum & chimes
16 clock, & separate quarter-clock
17 clock, chimes, & separate quarter-clock
19 clock, chimes, dial, & separate quarter-clock
20
21 new clock
22 new clock & chimes
23 new clock with dial
24
27
28 new quarter-striking clock
33 new clock with pendulum & dial
34 new clock with pendulum, chimes & dial
40
41
42
43
49 clock, detailed contract with clockmaker
50 no clock, but ringing daybell/curfew
51 clock, plus ringing daybell/curfew
52 clock & chimes, plus ringing daybell/curfew
53 clock & dial, plus ringing daybell/curfew
58 quarter(-striking) clock, plus ringing daybell/curfew
60 clock previously & later but not disaggregated this year, ringng daybell/curfew
62 clock with pendulum & chimes, plus ringing daybell/curfew
64
67 clock, chimes, & separate quarter-clock, plus ringing daybell/curfew
69 clock, chimes, dial, & separate quarter-clock, plus ringing daybell/curfew
71 construction of new clock, plus ringing daybell/curfew
72 construction of new clock & chimes, plus ringing daybell/curfew
73 construction of new clock & dial, plus ringing daybell/curfew
83 new clock with pendulum & dial, plus ringing daybell/curfew
84 new clock with pendulum, chimes & dial, plus ringing daybell/curfew
88 {StPeterWestcheap, 1540s}
93
94 clock with chimes and dial, plus ringing daybell/curfew, plus ____ ???
99 accounts missing