Clock, The Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew, Wells, Somerset. BA5 2UE.
Posted by: 
greysman
N 51° 12.637 W 002° 38.618
30U E 524892 N 5673307
The exterior face of the cathedral clock is on the north face of the north transept of the cathedral.
Waymark Code: WMPY33
Location: South West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/08/2015
Views: 8
This is the outside dial of the medieval clock, built, together with the figures, about one hundred years later than the inside face which is on the west wall of the north transept. It is driven by the same mechanism and the bells are struck by the knights on the quarter hour.
The inscription between the knights 'NEQUID PEREAT' is a quotation in latin from St John's Gospel, ch6,vv12, and means 'Let nothing be lost (or perish)', referring to the church fabric and the passage of time, but originating from the story of the feeding of the five thousand: And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, that nothing may be lost".
In the four corners of the face are representations of the four gospel writers, showing, counter-clockwise from top left, the angel for St.Matthew, the winged lion for St.Mark, the winged ox for St.Luke, and the eagle for St.John.
An old photograph from 1906 shows different scroll-work above the face and between the knights and different colouration for the Roman numerals and motto.
The original clock mechanism was built around 1392 and is thus the second-oldest surviving clock in England, the oldest being at Salisbury Cathedral. Similarities between the two lead to thinking that both were made by the same craftsmen. The original horizontal swinging beam mechanism, a foliot balance, was replaced by a pendulum and anchor escapement in the 1600s to improve timekeeping. Then in 1871 it was removed to the Patent Museum in London where new bells were fitted, it now resides in the Science Museum keeping record of the passing of time as it has done for over 600yrs.
My image of the clock in the Science Museum is not the best quality, the glass barrier reflects light very well!
For further information see:- Wells Cathedral Clock on Wikipedia.