ST. JAMES'S PALACE CLOCK

HL Deb 29 June 1966 vol 275 cc770-1WA

VISCOUNT FURNESS

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will state how many times and for what periods of time during the past five years one or both faces of the clock on St. James's Palace facing St. James's Street and The Mall has been out of order; whether the frequency and duration of these occasions is normal; and whether they have any responsibility for ensuring the accuracy of clocks visible to the public on the exteriors of other buildings.

LORD HILTON OF UPTON

The St. James's Palace clock has been out of order on six occasions in the past five years. On four of these the fault was remedied within 24 hours. On one occasion the clock was out of order for several months while a replacement was manufactured for a damaged cast iron section. The south dial has recently been out of order for about three weeks because of a fault in the mechanism; repairs have now been completed. Apart from the occasion when a cast iron section had to be replaced, which was exceptional, the frequency and duration of the faults is not considered abnormal for a nineteenth century clock.

The Minister of Public Building and Works is responsible for a number of clocks on the exteriors of Royal Palaces and other public buildings.