Batchwood Turret Clock

An interesting piece of local history…Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe, QC, known previously as Edmund Beckett Denison, was not only a very successful lawyer but also a noted horologist and architect.In 1851, he designed the mechanism for the clock of the Palace of Westminster, responsible for the chimes of Big Ben.In 1874, he commissioned the building of Batchwood Hall as his country home. The Batchwood Turret Clock, built for his wife, Fanny, has the same design features as the Great Westminster Clock; although approximately one-fifth in scale and with only two dials.He was also responsible throughout the 1880s and 1890s for rebuilding the west front, roof, and transept windows of St Albans Cathedral at his own expense.