Mondo Knows Facts

Salisbury Cathedral has the oldest working clock

The iron mechanism inside the cathedral has struck hours since about 1386 The clock in the cathedral has no dial: it was built to strike bells for the canonical hours, and the face was added much later. Its frame is wrought iron with a verge escapement and a slowly falling weight, and it was probably made by a blacksmith rather than a clockmaker. It was rediscovered in 1928 in a tower and restored to running order in 1956. It sits in Mondo's records & extremes collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

Salisbury Cathedral

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Tags: clocks, britain, medieval

Salisbury Cathedral has the oldest working clock: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?
The iron mechanism inside the cathedral has struck hours since about 1386. The figure is taken from Salisbury Cathedral, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a records & extremes fact?
Yes. It sits on the Records & Extremes shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?
The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.