Steyning’s Town Clock

You are all familiar with the Town Clock set above the old Market House half way down the High Street. What you may not realise is how large it is. Stand in front of one of the clock faces with your arms stretched wide and you might just be able to grasp it firmly enough to lift it. We know this because one of the old clock faces has just been put on display in Steyning Museum.

The old wooden clock faces were taken down in the 1980’s and replaced by fibreglass alternatives. The wooden faces were fairly rotten and broken into several pieces but the Museum has been able to resurrect one of them in fairly good order.

How long the old faces had been in place is not known. They had certainly been repainted many times over the years but I suppose it is a little unlikely (though not impossible) that they were the originals put there in 1848 when the clock was changed from a two face clock sticking out over the street into the three face clock we know now.

The 1848 conversion was done by Davey & Sons of Lewes and, quite by chance, the Museum has recently received a letter sent in 1848 from Davey to John Durrant, a plumber and glazier of Steyning. The letter, which was donated by a descendant of John Durrant, asked detailed questions about the dimensions of the clock and some of its working parts in preparation for the work that needed doing. There were Steyning clockmakers but the major conversion of Steyning’s town clock seems to have been masterminded by a  plumber!

The original two face clock was thought at one time to have come from the Duke of Norfolk’s estate at Michelgrove in 1829 but recent research indicates that that is unlikely. It is a substantial turret clock first made by Thwaites (still ‘clockmakers’ to day) between 1740 and 1780. Whether it started its life in Steyning in the original market house, which was in the middle of the street by the current post office, or was brought in second hand later on is unknown.

Now this reminder of part of our history is set up in the Museum - but it’s not easy to find. Good hunting.

Return To News Page