ANTIQUE HICKORY DICKORY DOCK CLOCK FULL

The main rival to Exeter claim is the Richard Cromwell theory.įortunately for Cromwell he had a famous dad. Some have linked it to Scottish shepherds who used similar archaic words to count their flock. The earliest recorded version of the rhyme is in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book, published in London in about 1744, which uses the opening line: 'Hickere, Dickere Dock'. Pity the poor old lady who took one in for comfort and engaged in small talk for she would be gleefully pointed out by neighbours as a disciple of the Devil. The cat, an animal which lived among us but could not be tamed, became associated with evil and witchcraft. Those rival gods of the old world were demonised and the cat with them. Back in ancient times the feline was worshipped and various gods took a cat-like form.īut by the time Christianity had a hold in Europe the cat hit hard times. But they were tolerated for their vermin catching abilities. They were often associated with witches and periodically purged for their perceived evils. Life wasn't easy for a cat living in Exeter in the Middle Ages. Ye hole still exists in the bottom of the door to the clock room and holds the key to the theory about the rhyme. It is from Bishop Cotton’s time that we have the record ‘Paid ye carpenters 8d for cutting ye hole in ye north transept door for ye Bishop’s cat’. In fact, the Bishop was not at all happy with the state of the place.

In a time of plague and famine this was probably a good idea.īut by the time Bishop Cotton was installed in 1598 this practice appears to have stopped. Records show that for much of the 14th and 15th century cats were employed by the church to catch vermin. The crucial link between the rhyme and Exeter can be traced to Bishop Cotton's cat. The half silvered sphere is always attached to the squeezed-up 29/30. The amount of visible moon then decreases (ie, wanes) until the third quarter is reached (day 22) continuing to the end of the cycle when new moon is reached again.

ANTIQUE HICKORY DICKORY DOCK CLOCK FULL

Day 1 is new moon, after which the amount of visible moon increases (ie, waxes) until the first quarter is reached (day 7),followed by full moon half way through the cycle (day 14/15). The tail of the fleur-de-lys points to the day in the lunar month. Note that the numbers 29 and 30 are close together to accommodate the lunar month which, on average, is 29 days 12 hours and 44 minutes.The fleur-de-lys points outwards to the time. The sun is represented by a black disc decorated with a fleur-de-lys The outermost ring, with the Roman numerals I to XII repeated twice, is a 24-hour clock with 12 midday at the top and 12 midnight at the bottom.The inner ring, with the Arabic numerals 1 to 30, is used to indicate the days of the lunar month. The amount of silver visible corresponds to the visibility of the moon. The sphere rotates to show the phases of the moon. Around this circles the moon, and circling outside both the earth and the moon is the sun.The moon is represented by a sphere with half its surface silver and half black. The earth is in the centre, represented by the fixed golden ball. The main (lower) dial of the clock is a working model of the solar system as understood in the 14th/15th centuries. Beneath the main dial are inscribed the words PEREUNT ET IMPUTANTUR which can be translated as ‘The hours pass and are reckoned to our account.’ Above the main dial is a smaller one with a single hand which indicates the minutes. It was thought that the main dial of the astronomical clock dates from 1484. The form of this clock is not known but was probably some type of water clock. There is no clue to the location, though Exeter Cathedral certainly does have a clock.Įxeter possessed some form of clock in 1284 when a record relating to Roger de Ropford and his family included a reference to them repairing the cathedral clock. No mention of a cat and the antics of the mouse are unremarkable. Hickory, dickory, dock.' On first inspection it's difficult to see how the rhyme caught on at all. The clock struck one, the mouse ran down. The rhyme itself doesn't give much away: 'Hickory, dickory, dock, the mouse ran up the clock.

The timeless battle betwixt cat and mouse is said to have given rise to nursery rhyme. The tale goes that mice would climb the mechanism of a clock hanging on the wall only to meet their doom at the claws of the bishop's cat who would settle at the bottom waiting for them to come down. One theory is that the rodent-themed ode began life here in Devon beneath the cathedral's sacred vaulting and towers. By then the cathedral was already some 300 years old. Hickory, Dickory, Dock can trace its origins back to Tudor times.

The magnificent Exeter Cathedral holds many treasures and its walls many mysteries - but could it also be the inspiration by one of our most cherished and famous nursery rhymes.

Antique hickory dickory dock clock