Anyone annoyed about losing an hour’s sleep on Sunday (March 30th) should spare a thought for 79-year-old John Comer who has to climb the steep tower of St Andrew’s Church in Burnham-On-Sea to turn forward the clock’s hands.
Mr Comer, pictured, has been maintaining the 170 year-old clock on the southern face of the seafront church for over 20 years.
Each year at this time, he clambers up the 100 winding steps in the bell tower to reach the clock’s workings, which are accessed from a special suspended wooden platform in the church’s bell ringing room.
Burnham-On-Sea.com was invited along to see British Summer Time introduced.
John said: “The clock’s movement is designed to chime each quarter hour, so in order to add the extra hour we have to move forward the hands 15 minutes at a time.”
John, who is a well-known face in Burnham, having run the town’s phone exchange for over 35 years, says he got the job of maintaining the church clock by accident.
“I took it on by accident as there was no-one else available 20 years ago and I have been doing it ever since, but it’s a pleasure to do. This is a grand old clock that needs careful looking after.”
The clock on the church tower of St Andrew’s is a south-facing, traditonal cast-iron skeleton type which is some 60ft from the ground.
The movement, made by clockmakers Thwaites and Reed, is dated 1836 and was originally wound by hand but modifications took place to allow automatic winding. The timekeeping is controlled by a long pendulum beating every 1.5 seconds.
What a view! The whole of Burnham can be seen from the top of the church
John winds forward the clock in 15-minute steps to introduce summer time
The face of the clock, 60ft from the ground, was recently renovated
