Orangutangents

Hickory Dickory Clock

I love odd bits of history, and one great thing about living in Exeter (Devon, UK) is that you get a weird mix of Celtic, Roman, English, and local history all mixed in.

As I have kids though, I also get dragged out on some events as "responsible adult". I'm not quite sure either of those terms fully apply to me, but I'll take the compliment. 

One of the events I went out on was an historical walk around the older part of Exeter, particularly focusing on the Cathedral Green area of the City. There are some wonderful old building around the Cathedral, many of which are still owned by the Church, and one of the narrow alleys leading into a quaint old courtyard is fronted by a 500 year old oak door. Our guide at this point pointed out a cat flap in an adjacent door, noting that it was for the Cathedral Cat (at that point called Thomas I seem to remember, always nice to see that the clergy watch old cartoons), and that the Cat was a Church cat, owned by the church, not the resident Bishop. Bishops come and go more often than the cats it would seem.

Within the nearby Cathedral is an astronomical clock (sky, not cost of installment), which dates from around 1500 AD, and has the wonderful inscription "Pereunt et imputantur" which translates as "The hours pass and are reckoned to our account".

As with many old clocks, the mechanism is powered by weights, originally attached by ropes, and local lore suggests that on one occasion mice chewed through the ropes, breaking the clock.

Recognise this? 

Hickory, dickory, dock.
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one, (at which point everything broke and possibly made a comedy SPROIIING!! noise)
The mouse ran down,
Hickory, dickory, dock.

"Father Brian, buy me a cat!"

So a great many cats called Thomas have probably led a sheltered and blessed life in the area of Cathedral Green, but the Cathdral has also given us one of the more recognisable nursery rhymes.