The Tale of the Parish Church clock

by Carol Powell MA

All Saints' Church and its clock

Norman Thomas in his book The Mumbles: Past and Present, states that the clock, which was installed on the church tower in May 1875, was the gift of Mr. Francis Tippings of Le Mayals. However, another version reported in the Cambrian Daily Leader on 15 November 1916, tells an altogether different and perhaps fanciful story.

At that time, the paper reported that the hands on the clock were being re-gilded to enable the parishioners to see the time from a distance. The report went on to reveal that many years before, a subscription list had been opened in the village towards the purchase of a clock. for the parish. The residents of three districts responded 'nobly,' but one district refused to subscribe.

Therefore, a certain Mr. Tippings, 'who had the matter in hand' decided to fix a clock with only three faces to the tower. The blank side faces the district, which refused to rise to the occasion.

Acknowledgments

Thomas, N., The Mumbles; Past and Present, 1978

Cambrian Daily Leader, ‘The Oystermouth Parish Clock’, 15 November 1916

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