Grasshopper Clock - Trumpington Street, Cambridge, UK - Town Clocks on Waymarking.com

The clock is on display to the public on the corner of the street. The local newspaper describes it in an article from 20/9/2008:

'Hawking unveils new £1m Cambridge clock

CAMBRIDGE'S new £1 million clock is ticking away at last.

The gold-plated timepiece, which is four feet across, was officially unveiled at Corpus Christi College last night by Stephen Hawking, the city's world-famous maths professor.

As the News has reported, the mechanical clock has been designed and paid for by Dr John Taylor, an honorary fellow at the college, and it has pride of place on the college's new library, which is also funded by him.

The clock is powered by a pendulum, driven by a mechanism in the shape of a giant grasshopper.

The grasshopper was sculpted by Cambridge-based artist Matthew Lane Sanderson, and the whole timepiece was put together by Huxley Bertram Engineering at Cottenham.

It has no hands or digital numerals. Instead there is a series of slits cut into the face, and blue LED lights are arranged behind the slits, which run round rapidly in concentric circles and pause at the correct hour, minute, and second. Its massive round face was engineered from a single sheet of stainless steel, and gold-plated.

Dr Taylor told the News: "It is my way of giving something back to my old college and to Cambridge - and I expect the clock will last for 200 years."

Helped by a carer, Prof Hawking pressed a button to reveal it to a waiting crowd of onlookers and college staff, headed by the President of Corpus Christi, Prof Christopher Andrew.

The inauguration was followed by a lecture by former Astronomer Royal Sir Arnold Wolfendale, and then a banquet.

Unveiling the clock, Prof Hawking said: "I have been particularly concerned with time. Why does time go forward? Does time have a beginning and an end? Can one go sideways in time? Some of the answers are given in my book, A Brief History of Time.

"One of the challenges has been to measure the passage of time accurately. Dr John Taylor's invention is a true mechanical spring-driven clock, but it also uses modern technology, high-precision engineering, and high-quality craftsmanship to considerable effect."

He said the grasshopper would become "a much loved and possibly feared addition to Cambridge's cityscape." '

Status: Working Display: Mounted Year built: 09/20/2008 Web link to additional info: Not listed

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Photo of clock.

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