Welcome to Chris McKay's Web Site

This site is mostly about turret clocks, these are the large clocks you find up church and town hall towers.
In the US and Canada, turret clocks are generally called tower clocks.

My Email address.

The old emailaddress chris.mckay@tesco.net no longer works

 

Views and opinions expressed in this site are mine and do not represent any organisation of any kind.

© Chris McKay 2018

Images and text are available for personal use. Not to be used for commercial purposes.

Site Updated October 2018

CONTENTS
Click on Titles to navigate

‘A Code of Practice for Turret Clock Work’

This Code started in the internet forum for diocesan clocks advisers. It went through many iterations and was passed to turret clock companies and restorers for thier comments. Comments were then considered and integrated. Finally the Code was approved by the Church Buildings Council (CBC) and a link can be found on the ChurchCare website.

Contents of the Code are...

01 A Turret Clock
02 Historical Importance
03 Conservation: what is it and why?
04 Looking after a clock
05 Maintenance
06 Contractors
07 Automatic Winders
08 Night Silencing
09 Bells and Hammers
10 Pendulum Correctors
11 Electro-Hammers
12 Dials and Hands
13 Turret Clock Removal and Replacement
14 Clock Relocation
15 Risk Assessment
16 Clock Inspections
17 Building Work
18 Exceptions
19 Funding
20 Providing Information For Advice
Appendix 1: Service Report Card
Appendix 2: Turret Clocks in the Church of England

Click Here to link to Clocks Advisers Site. Then select Code of Practice.

 

New Book

‘Bailey’s Illustrated and Useful Inventions’
edited by
Chris McKay

Price £25.00
ISBN-13:978-1537180298
ISBN-10:1537180290
Available from: Amazon www.amazon.co.uk
Publication Date: 2017

Click Here to download .pdf flyer

 

 

‘The Maintenance, Repair, Restoration, Conservation and Preservation of Turret Clocks’
by
Chris McKay

Price £35.00
ISBN-13: 978-1517127206
ISBN-10: 1517127203
Available from: Amazon www.amazon.co.uk
Publication Date: 2016 July

Click Here to download .pdf flyer

Also available on Amazon

Longitude's Legacy:
James Harrison of Hull 1792-1875;
Turret Clockmaker
The Last of the Harrison Clockmakers

ISBN-13: 978-1511810333
ISBN-10: 1511810335
Quarto size. 288 pages Over 240 black & white illustrations
Soft colour laminated cover. Only available from Amazon. £25.00

Click Here to download .pdf flyer

Also available on Amazon

The Turret Clock Keepers Handbook (New Revised Edition)

Click Here to download .pdf flyer

All about how to look after a Public Clock.

Click the picture above to download a .pdf of some sample pages.

Note: What you see is just to give you a flavour.

Twice the size of the 1998 Edition!

New information on recent technology developments

New health & safety suggestions

Conservation

Chosing a restorer

Now in A4 size

84 Pages

60+ Illustrations

The Turret Clock Keepers Handbook (Old 1998 version) still available for FREE Download

All about how to look after a Public Clock

BIG BEN: The Great Clock and Bells at the Palace of Westminster

by Chris Mckay

....

New Big Ben Information

Recent discoveries about Big Ben. This is part one of a short series of articles published in Antiquarian Horology, the journal of the Antiquarian Horological Society. The first part is about the name of the bell and its cracking. The second coversa a moonlight picture, a Kendall & Dent advertising card and tolling the bell for the deaths of two monarchs.

....

Timing Turret Clocks

A series of five technical articles published in the Horological Journal about timing turret clocks using the MicroSet clock timer and a Lascar event logger. The article also considers using these pieces of equipment to diagnose difficult faults.

....

Hinton Martell Parish Fountain
The Fountain has been restored.

Fountain Maintenance
Advice for those who lok after a Fountain.

....

James Harrison of Hull
James Harrison was an exceptional turret clockmaker working in Hull. He was decended from Jmaes Harrison, brother of John Harrison of longitude and the chronometer fame. A NEW BOOK is under preparation on this subject.
....

Edmund Beckett Denison Lord Grimthorpe
Edmund BECKETT, First Baron GRIMTHORPE was the designer of the clock and bells at the Houses of Parliament.
....

Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy
Benjamin Lewis VULLIAMY was clockmaker to Queen Victoria and was a good turret clockmaker.

....

William Wynn
William WYNN was a turret clockmaker who worked in Farnham and London.
....

BIG BEN
The Great Clock at the Palace if Westminster. A History.

....

TURRET CLOCK DOCUMENTS FOR FREE DOWNLOADING

The Turret Clock Keeper's Handbook

The older documents on restoration, conservation etc. are no loger available and have all been incorporated into the New Revised Edition of the Turret Clock Keeper's Handbook

The Frontispiece for A Rudiementary Treatise on Clocks Watches and Bells is available

BOOKS FOR SALE
Books for sale onTurret Clocks

TURRET CLOCK TRAINING
Interested in attending some training in the maintenace and repair of turret clocks?

TURRET CLOCK DESCRIPTION AND HISTORY
An Introduction to Turret clocks

AHS
The Turret Clock Group of the Antiquarian Horological Society: Brief details of the Group and the current programme.

 

Programme and Information

(For details of Dorset makers see the link below "People who enter this site....")


BHI
The British Horological Institute

People Who Enter This Site Often Search For......
Plans for Turret Clocks

Dorset Clocks and Clockmakers

Gravity Escapement

John / James Harrison

Clocks Watches Bells