Today is the Feast of Corpus Christi, which is the Name Day of @CorpusCambridge where I am a Fellow in Pharmacology, largely involved with teaching medicine & biology students, but I'm also the Custodian of the Corpus Chronophage Clock 
One of my jobs on our Name Day is to provide a tour of the Clock to guests of Fellows & the College who attend our celebration. COVID-19 has put a stop to such events & hence this brief virtual tour, but he's me mid-waffle from the past
The Clock sits on what used to be the entrance to a Natwest Bank, a building built in 1866 (architect Horace Francis) that originally housed the London County Bank.
Natwest's lease ended in 2005 & it was decided that better student library provision was needed. The then library was under the Parker Library (see image), moving students out = better facilities for students/researchers to access the Parker as well bit.ly/2MQbKE2
The old Natwest entrance couldn't just be bricked up due to planning restriction. What to do? Enter inventor & Corpus alumnus Dr John C Taylor OBE @DrJCTOBE: Inventor of the bimetallic thermostat control present in electric kettles & much more! johnctaylor.com
John is also an horologist & designed the Corpus Chronohphage Clock that was built by Huxley Bertram (pictured here with the Clock huxleybertram.com) & gifted to the College, as well as being the major benefactor to the new undergraduate library: The Taylor Library
But this is no ordinary clock. The escapement wheel is made from a single sheet of steel, plated in gold, created by a series of explosions in a vacuum, the radiating ripples that this has created allude to the Big Bang & the clock was inaugurated in 2008 by Stephen Hawking
Atop the wheel sits the Chronophage (time eater). The mouth opens at 30 sec past each minute, snapping shut when the minute is over: time passes & we all die. It is an example of the grasshopper escapement mechanism (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grasshopp…) invented by John Harrison in the 1700s
When the hour is struck, there is no chiming of bells, but rather the rustling of chains & a hammer strikes a coffin to sound out the passing of another hour....perhaps a little off putting for those studying in the library behind the clock!
To tell the time, there are 3 LED wheels (2736 LEDs) to show seconds, minutes & hours. However, this clock plays tricks: our perception of time is always altered by what is going on & the clock's trickery adds to that...in this video the clock (note mouth open) is behaving...
But here the clock is playing tricks...watch the pendulum in this video...the clock has 50 tricks, a special set is reserved for 4 special days: John Harrison's birthday (March 24th), John Taylor's birthday (Nov. 25th), New Year's Day & today, Corpus Christi Day
When playing these tricks, the clock gets a little out of time, but have no fear, it can run 10% fast & 90% slow, thus enabling a rapid realignment. This ability also enables the clock to cope with the clocks going forwards/backwards.
The pendulum has an inscription. Joh = Johannes = John; Sarto = Taylor, Monan = Monanensis = Isle of Man, Inv. = Invenit = to create, MMVIII = 2008: John Taylor from the Isle of Man made this in 2008
There are 10 peaks on the rhodium dish at the bottom that can be pointed at by the pendulum when playing certain tricks, a further homage to John Harrison and the accuracy achieved with his clocks centuries ago!
And of course, like all good clocks, there is a key, but this one is purely ceremonial. When spun, the key tells you to which clock it belongs & top left is the image of the bimetallic thermostat for the kettle!
So, that's a little overview of what is truly an incredible thing, bang in the middle of Cambridge for everyone to see with plenty more secrets to share...
