If you visited Staunton Country Park recently, you may have noticed that the clock in the coach house is working again.
The original clock was made in the 1830s by a very famous clock maker, Benjamin Vulliamy, who also advised on the design of Big Ben in London. Benjamin’s brother, Lewis, designed the original coach house at Staunton.
The clock has not been working for over 50 years. As part of the recent transformation of the park, the Friends of Staunton Country Park decided it was time to bring the clock back into operation. After working alongside the park management team and a specialist clock restorer, visitors will have noticed that the clock started working again at end of 2021, after a modern mechanism was installed.
Now we are planning the second part of the project. This is to display the original clock mechanism as a working model (like the one displayed at The Spring), together with the pendulum and weights, in the coach house museum. The plan includes new materials for visitors and schools to learn about the history and operation of the original clock.
The Mechanism will be housed within an oak framework to be handmade on site by our friends in the Staunton Men’s Shed.
The Friends of Staunton Country Park have started fundraising for the second phase and welcome contributions through our website www.foscp.co.uk.