Interior -view of clock mehcanism inside tower

Description Interior -view of clock mehcanism inside tower

Date 17/11/1993

Catalogue Number SC 776408

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of C 17836

Scope and Content Clock Mechanism in East Tower, Hartwood Hospital, Shotts, North Lanarkshire (now closed and mainly demolished) This view of the interior of the clock stage of the east tower shows two of the four large clock faces, each 3m in diameter, that adorn the elevations of the tower, and the complex mechanism of gears required to operate the clock. The working of the clock was regulated by the natural swing of a long pendulum, the top part of which can be seen in the centre of the picture, and the rest of which descends through a hole in the wooden flooring to the belfry stage below. The pendulum controls the movement of the hands of each of the four clock faces through a series of gears. At the top of the mechanism is the crown gear (centre) which is connected to four long arms (the arms on the right and the left can be seen) which drive the gears connected to each face of the clock. At the point where the drive arm meets the clock face (this point can be seen at the centre of the clock face on the right), a series of gears drive the hour and minute hands of the clock. The clock-tower was an important landmark, and could be seen from the nearby town of Shotts. A section of the clock mechanism operated the striking mechanism of a great bell which hung in the belfry below the clock stage, allowing the bell to strike each hour. The clock faces were illuminated at night, originally by electricity produced by the asylum's own generating plant which continued to meet the needs of the hospital until 1932 when 'Clyde Valley' electricity was introduced. Because of the hospital's isolated and elevated position, the hands on each clock face required regular maintenance, as they had to work against not only strong winds, but also freezing snow in winter. Hartwood Hospital, a large Baronial-style building with imposing twin towers, was designed by the architect, John L Murray of Biggar (d.1909), and occupied one of the largest hospital sites in Scotland. It was built as the District Asylum for Lanark and opened in 1895 with accommodation for 500 lunatic patients. Between 1898 and 1916 additions included two large ward blocks, each linked to the rear of the main building by a covered corridor, a sanatorium for the isolation of patients suffering from tuberculosis, and a new admission hospital. In 1931 a new nurses' home, designed by the architect, James Lochhead (1870-1942), opened to the south of the complex, and in c.1935, a new site was developed at nearby Hartwood Hill in response to the growing need for accommodation for mentally handicapped adults. The hospital is now closed and mainly demolished. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/776408

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap