ZEAL MONACHORUM – CHURCH CLOCK CELEBRATION

A unique service took place at St. Peter’s Church, Zeal Monachorum on Sunday 25th November to celebrate the complete renewal of the Church Clock, and also to thank Tony Brealy for winding up the Clock for 30 years.

As part and parcel of refurbishing and retuning the bells in the tower at St. Peter’s it was decided to refurbish the Clock as well. The bells were re-hung earlier in the year and now it was time for the Clock, the mechanism of which was completely overhauled, and the clock face was newly re-gilded with fine gold leaf.

The Church Clock was made by Whitehurst’s of Derby in the early 1800s and was originally installed (second hand) in Zeal Monachorum in 1912. Whitehurst’s were famous clock makers and installed several clocks in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire and their clock in Zeal Monachorum is special as their only example in Devon.

The outside face of the Clock (or the dial) came from elsewhere and was put in separately by John Smith and Sons. The Reverend Augustin McCarthy who was Rector of Zeal Monachorum in 1912 was instrumental in fund raising for the clock originally, and before the dial, which was 6 foot in diameter, was installed on the outside of the church tower it was set up as a table in the grounds of Heron Court, which was the Rectory at that time, and 12 people sat down to a meal around it! The box containing the clock movement in the tower has hand written instructions on it written by Rev. McCarthy stating “Raise the screw at the bottom of the pendulum one eighth of a turn to make the clock gain one minute per week”.

Around 70 villagers from Zeal Monachorum attended the celebration at St. Peter’s on November 25th. They were welcomed by Canon Michael Hall outside the church before the clock struck twelve at midday, and then everyone moved inside and Tony Brealy gave a brief presentation on the history of the clock. Charles Stericker, the Church Warden, moved to thank all those involved in the refurbishment of the clock and bells and in particular thanked Tony Brealy for being the ‘Clock Winder Up’ for 30 years from 1977 to 2007. He noted the winding mechanism had been automated and electrified as part of the refurbishment and so Tony’s tenure as Clock Winder had now come to an end. To mark the occasion Tony was presented with a brass carriage clock with traditional jeweled movement, together with a wooden stand for it made of African walnut, and, most importantly, the key so he could continue winding up his new clock!

Tony Brealy’s family have lived in Zeal Monachorum for at least 10 generations now and it is of note that in ascending the tower in St. Peter’s to attend to his clock winding duties over 30 years he climbed over 30,000 feet, or more than the height of Mount Everest!

After the presentation Canon Michael Hall blessed the Church Clock (and all others) to keep it going for the next 100 years. This was followed by the hymn ‘Lord for the years your love has kept and guided, urged and inspired us, cheered us on our way’, and then Margaret Down, another long term resident of Zeal Monachorum and church organist played ‘The Minuet from Haydn’s Clock Symphony’ on the organ. To conclude this unique celebration all present enjoyed light refreshments in the church. The Parochial Church Council would like to thank everyone who has contributed so generously to the Appeal for the Bells and Clock.

Rededication of the Church clock	Rededication cake by Margaret and Isobel Harris
Tony Brealy receiving his new clock	The clock face