The Bourtons - All Saints Bell Tower
All Saints Church > All Saints Bell TowerFor those who haven't yet done the climb up the bell tower, this is what you see when you do - And a great view!
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The Clockmakers' plate reads "Smith and Sons, The Clerkenwell Steam Clockworks, Clerkenwell, London". The Bell inscription locates them in St John's Square, Clerkenwell.
The company, J Smith and Sons, was established in 1780, and became one of the most important clockmakers of the mid-19th century. World War I saw a sharp decline in the demand for clocks, especially the large clocks that the company specialised in, and the last clock was made by Smith and Sons in 1938. The company focused its business instead on the importation of raw materials, which had been a necessity for it's clockmaking, and became a supplier of raw materials to other manufacturing industries. That business still continues.
And the view...
Here are a couple of very short video clips of the clock mechanism working.
Thanks to Julian Aldred for all of these photos.