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On the very top is a depiction of St George and the Dragon by Francesco Fanelli, which was added during King George IV's reign in the 19th Century. The rock crystal panels are engraved with land and seascapes, and surrounded by floral-painted enamel.Īt each corner is a gilt bronze figure of a Greek goddess. The casket was made by Melchior Baumgartner, who wrote in German on a panel inside: ' made this casket in Augsburg and covered it with silver in the year 1664.' The Bible in the casket was owned by General Gordon, who was killed at Khartoum in 1885. Inside the clock base is the brass drum and pins of the organ, along with bellows that blow air through the flutes. 'This is more an instrument than a timepiece, it was meant to be heard,' says Fjodor. Measuring about 6ft (1.8m) in height, the organ clock was made by Charles Clay in 1740 and plays melodies by Handel, four of which were composed just for the clock.Ĭlay and Handel often worked together in creating organ clocks, a number of which went to royal families in Europe. The porcelain inlays around the paintings were made in the famous Sèvres porcelain factory in Paris, a leading producer in Europe.Īnother clock linked to Queen Victoria's reign is a large organ clock in the King's Drawing Room, which houses a Bible placed by the monarch inside a rock crystal casket. The rest of the case is decorated with leaf wreaths, medallions and figures of famous clockmakers. On the left side the Dutch physicist Christian Huyghens is depicted demonstrating the first pendulum clock, which he invented in 1656, and on the right side there is a Roman senator holding a water clock. On the front there is the first astronomical clock in the town hall of Padua, Italy, in 1364. The clock features three paintings that represent the three ages of horology (the art of making clocks). Said to have been Queen Victoria's favourite, the clock was presented to the monarch in 1844 by King Louis-Philippe of France.Ī portrait of Queen Victoria hangs behind it.

One of the clocks Fjodor looks after is an ornate French clock in the State Dining Room. 'Now we buy a really modern smartphone, but back then if you wanted to show off you bought the latest clock.' 'They were the supercomputers of their time. ' clocks were a way to bring God into your house, because God made time, and man made a machine to capture time,' explains Fjodor. When a part breaks or wears out, Fjodor makes a replacement using a lathe, a milling machine and lots of hand tools.

The rest of his week is spent in his workshop servicing and repairing clocks, many of which are 200 to 300 years old. 'So I do have to keep a constant eye on them.' 'Most of the clocks are quite accurate but every now and then, for no reason, they will suddenly start losing or gaining time - something which I've just started calling 'life'. The state apartments are where the Queen hosts official visits by heads of state from other countries, investitures and awards ceremonies. 'I check all the clocks in the state apartments before the public arrive to make sure they're on time.' On a typical day of walking around the castle and winding clocks, the step counter on his watch will record about 16,000 steps.

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When he's not changing the time, Fjodor's job includes spending one full day a week winding up the mechanical clocks to keep their pendulums swinging. it's a constant reminder that this is important.' 'This is so that the food arrives on time. 'People are still amazed that at Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace there is a small time zone in the kitchens, where the clocks are always five minutes fast. 'It's just myself, and I have one colleague at Buckingham Palace who changes all the clocks there,' Fjodor told the BBC.įor some clocks there is an extra time difference to take into account. He plans to spend about 16 hours over the weekend changing all 400 clocks on the Windsor estate, including about 250 in the castle itself, along with seven tower clocks. The changing of the clocks this autumn will be Fjodor's first since taking on the role. css-uqx86q.As the clocks go back this autumn, the horological conservator at Windsor Castle will be busy changing more than 400 clocks from the Royal Collection Trust.įor those of us with smartphones and smartwatches, the change to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) on Sunday 25 October will happen automatically whilst we sleep.īut for the hundreds of clocks in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle, each one will need to be changed by hand to ensure accurate timekeeping for visitors and residents.įjodor van den Broek is the current horological conservator of the 900-year-old royal castle.