Trinity College Clock, Pendulum clock at Trinity College, Cambridge, England
The Trinity College clock is housed in King Edward's Gate Tower and features a temperature-compensated pendulum approximately two meters tall. The dial faces Great Court, where the bell strikes audibly for the entire college community.
It was installed in 1610 by London clockmaker Thomas Tennant, and the original bell bearing the inscription TRINITAS IN UNITATE RESONAT 1610 remains in place. Over the centuries, the mechanism has been revised and improved while maintaining its core function at the same location.
The clock strikes twice for each hour, a feature mentioned by poet William Wordsworth in his autobiographical work The Prelude. This double-strike pattern has made it a recognizable part of college life for centuries.
The mechanism is wound weekly and maintains such precision that it deviates less than one second per month. Visitors can observe and hear it from Great Court, especially during the hourly strikes.
Researchers at the college monitor its performance using GPS signals and measure factors like air pressure, temperature, and density. These modern tracking methods help optimize maintenance and preserve this historic mechanism for future generations.
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