What is it?

The York Minster astronomical clock was installed in the North Transept of York Minster in 1955. It was first conceived in 1944 and designed by R d'E Atkinson, chief assistant at the Royal Greenwich Observatory. The clock is a memorial to the airmen operating from bases in Yorkshire, Durham, and Northumberland who were killed in action during World War II.Atkinson based the design on the appearance of the sun and stars from the viewpoint of a pilot flying over York. The mechanism and two dials were constructed by A C S Westcott and RGO craftsmen.

The Astronomical Clock was originally dedicated on Ist November 1955, by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. The memorial took the form of an Astronomical Clock in tribute to the airmen who needed to find their way in the trackless sky. The Clock demonstrates the precise position of the sun and the ‘fixed’ stars in relation to the centre of York at all times of the day and throughout the year, and is accurate to within one minute. The clock and its mechanism are contained within a walnut wood frame designed by Professor A E Richardson, President of the Royal Academy

The grid system of the York Minster astronomical clock