Strikes 13

The church was built in 1844-46, at a cost of £20,000. It was one of the earliest of 470 churches designed by George Gilbert Scott (1811-78); according to his son he regarded it as one of his most successful and purest essays in the geometrical Decorated Gothic style of the late 13th and early 14th century, with careful attention to detail.

The church boasts a fine ring of ten bells which is unusual for a parish church - the usual number is six or eight - and is also home to an unusual clock that strikes 13 at 1 o'clock.

The story goes that the Duke of Bridgewater, on an inspection visit, wanted to know why the workmen were late back from their dinner break. On being told they had difficulty hearing the clock strike one because of the noise of the yard, the Duke promptly had the mechanism adjusted so it struck 13. When the yard was cleared, the clock was preserved and later installed in the New Hall Gatehouse and subsquently in St. Mark's church.


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