'My Grandfather's Clock'

A strange coincidence occurred the other night.

To relate this occurrence I must explain that my wife and I take care of our 3-year-old granddaughter for two days a week.

During our pleasurable time with her she loves to listen to music and when we are in the car we frequently play a CD of children’s songs.

One of her favourites is “My Grandfather’s Clock”. Many people will know the song that tells the story of a clock that was purchased on the day that the grandfather was born and stopped 90 years latter at the moment that the old man died.

What happened was that my wife and I were taking my sister-in-law back to Gainsborough following a short visit to us in Saline. We decided that we would break our journey on the way home and stay for one night in the Darlington area where we could spend some time in the market town of Barnard Castle.

I therefore spent some time on the internet looking for a suitable, reasonably priced hotel in the area. After reviewing a few dozen hotels I finally selected and booked a room at the George hotel located in the village of Piercebridge, situated a few miles east of Barnard Castle.

I then Googled “Piercebridge” to find out about the village and was amazed to discover that the George Hotel was the home of the original “Grandfather Clock”.

I learnt that in 1875 an American composer by the name of Henry Clay Work had stayed in the hotel and had been told a story about two brothers who had managed the hotel. When one brother died, a large long cased floor clock located in the hotel lobby had started to loose time.

No clock smith was able to repair the clock and when the second brother died at the age of 90, the clock stopped for good. After hearing the story and seeing the clock for himself, Henry Clay Work was inspired to compose the famous song that still delights children to this day.

Shortly after the song was composed, long cased floor clocks became known as grandfather clocks as a result of the popularity of the song.

When we arrived at the hotel, there stood the largest grandfather clock we had ever seen and we were assured by the hotel staff that it was the original clock. Obviously, it wasn’t going.

Could I add that Piecebrige is a charming village that boasts the remains of a Roman fort and that the George Hotel has a fantastic ambiance and a first class chef.

John Crane