|
Langtree Parish War Memorial
The Langtree Parish War Memorial is the Face of the Turret Clock installed in the tower of All Saints Church at Langtree.  | All Saints' Church |
Brief History The Parish of Langtree in North Devon has a slightly unusual War Memorial - the Turret Clock installed in the bell tower of All Saints' Church, Langtree - a 13th-century Anglican Church. The Parish is part of the Archdeaconry of Barnstaple and the Diocese of Exeter, and includes the villages of Langtree and Stibb Cross, and the hamlets of Berry Cross, Langtree Week and Stowford. The clock was made in 1920 - one of 1,600 turret clocks made by W Potts & Sons Ltd. It is an hour-striking clock with a gravity escapement - meaning it is weight-driven - designed by Lord Grimthorpe in 1860.
In February 1919, a Parish Meeting was called for "the purpose of erecting a suitable memorial to the men who have fought and died for their country", and it was proposed in May 1919 that the Memorial should be either a granite cross or a clock. It was agreed by a substantial majority vote that the memorial would be a clock. In 1920 the clock was installed as a commemoration to the 12 men of Langtree who fell in the 1914-18 War. An inscription on the cabinet housing the clock's internal workings shows that "This Clock was set going September 18th 1920, Rt Hon George Lambert MS".  | World War I Memorial Tablet |
In January 1948, a special Parish Meeting was called to "consider what steps should be taken towards the erection of a memorial to the fallen of the Parish in the 1939-45 Great War". It was proposed that a tablet be created similar to the one already in the Church. At a Parish Meeting in March 1950 it was explained that the reason for the delay was that fresh instructions for the inscription had to be given to the makers, as it it had been overlooked that one of the fallen had been a female.  | World War II Tablet |
In 1967 the Parish Council agreed that it was not solely the responsibility of the Church to keep the clock in repair as it was the Parish Memorial. The Rural District Council confirmed that the Parish Council had the power to spend money on the clock and the precept was amended for the following year to cover the expenses involved. In 1975 the Parish Council agreed to fund repairs and painting of the clock, and agreed to donate £20 per annum to a Church Clock Fund. In October 1977 the clock face was cleaned and painted with figures and hands gold-leafed. Donations had been made towards the cost of renovation but £75 was needed to clear the cost, which the Parish Council donated. In 1989 it was discovered that the clock chiming mechanism was all seized up due to rust, but that the Church tower was so unsafe that any vibration from the chiming of the clock - if it was repaired - would only do further damage.
In 1993, the clock was damaged by builders who were working on the Church tower; subsequently, the builders agreed to pay for the damage. The clock was repaired in 1995 with the work being paid for by matched funds from the Parish Council and Torridge District Council. In 2005 it was agreed that the Parish Council would take financial responsibility for maintaining the clock face as the War Memorial, and that the Church would retain financial responsibility for the internal workings, day-to-day running and upkeep of the clock.
In August 2006 the clock face was completely refurbished with figures and hands gold-leafed - a refurbishment made possible by a grant towards the cost of the work from the Balsdon Trust.
|