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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>No, Bristol Exchange (not Town Hall) clock does not
strike at all - it has no bells. Nor does the old Guildhall (in Broad Street)
nor the old Council House (in Corn Street), but they are made up for by the
three clock bells at Christ Church, adjacent, whose quarters include two fine
"jacks". The Exchange clock does indeed retain its extra minute
hand (painted red) for Bristol Time; and what it lacks in bells it makes up
for outside with the four fine 18th century inscribed bronze "Nails",
i.e. pillared circular tables where you paid "on the Nail". The work of an
accomplished founder.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The modern Council House of 1937 does not need
bells - on one side is the Cathedral with its ting-tang and hour struck on three
of that interesting ancient chime of four in the Central Tower; and on
the other side, up the hill, audible for miles the resonant Eb of "Great George"
(JT 1925).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>DLC</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=Frank.King@8iyrLcOL7jPHtmrC4vjyVGQEUWnyAJXdWQrsAnwwT78i0oVeUnZRFSkq19SeDlzoy5ml7Oc6UE87EwdE-59HIIYXFMl_rflRsto.yahoo.invalid href="mailto:Frank.King@iygJHK5S6uTmcbG94LyAZAjHY8swgQOJEIX6kd8_6Sd5K0d6WgexTyvIzAzN8R_jADFSbdtVLhm6odENXE8Q8A.yahoo.invalid">Frank
King</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=bellhistorians@yahoogroups.com
href="mailto:bellhistorians@yahoogroups.com">bellhistorians@yahoogroups.com</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</B> <A title=Frank.King@3LvEF_Jx1RsGFvix_FRhH2BmJcMpAmOLi9rNRe3BCWq4iUQT6ejeLT-JItkPSYMi6puAAEoWg5jDEOXOdxwozYE4Rw.yahoo.invalidc.uk
href="mailto:Frank.King@iygJHK5S6uTmcbG94LyAZAjHY8swgQOJEIX6kd8_6Sd5K0d6WgexTyvIzAzN8R_jADFSbdtVLhm6odENXE8Q8A.yahoo.invalid">Frank.King@iygJHK5S6uTmcbG94LyAZAjHY8swgQOJEIX6kd8_6Sd5K0d6WgexTyvIzAzN8R_jADFSbdtVLhm6odENXE8Q8A.yahoo.invalid</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, October 30, 2007 8:17
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Bell Historians] French
clocks.</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV id=ygrp-text>
<P>> Why is it that some French clocks strike the<BR>> hour
twice?<BR><BR>I don't think there is anything special about<BR>the clocks
being French. Clocks that strike<BR>twice are not common but are not confined
to<BR>France.<BR><BR>A well-known English example is the clock of<BR>Great
Court in Trinity College, Cambridge.<BR>This is well known because of the
associated<BR>challenge: Can you run round Great Court in<BR>less time than it
takes the clock to chime<BR>and strike 12? You are allowed to include<BR>both
lots of striking.<BR><BR>[I tried it at midnight once with two
other<BR>ringers. I came second, about two yards<BR>behind the winner who was
about 30 yards<BR>short of completing the run on the last<BR>stroke of the
second lot of 12.]<BR><BR>The explanation for the this clock striking<BR>twice
relates to one of the many livings that<BR>Trinity is responsible for. The
relevant<BR>Church has a clock that Trinity took as the<BR>model for its own
clock. In perpetual<BR>acknowledgement of this, the Trinity clock<BR>strikes
ones for Trinity and once for the<BR>other Church.<BR><BR>The Trinity clock
has four trains. As well<BR>as the going train and the chiming train
there<BR>are two separate striking trains. This means<BR>four lots of weights
to wind and the winding<BR>is still done by hand twice a week. One of<BR>the
College Engineering Fellows is entrusted<BR>with this task.<BR><BR>In Italy,
many clocks strike after each quarter<BR>so you know which hour you are in.
Such clocks<BR>therefore strike four times each hour.<BR><BR>I suspect that
there are almost as many<BR>explanations for clocks striking more than<BR>once
per hour as there are such clocks. The<BR>Town Hall clock in Bristol has two
long hands,<BR>one for indicating Bristol time and one for<BR>indicating
new-fangled Railway Time. I don't<BR>know whether the clock strikes twice but
that<BR>would be another possible excuse.<BR><BR>Frank H. King<BR>The
University Bellringer<BR>Cambridge, U.K.<BR><BR></P></DIV><!--End group email --></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>