1873 to 1874

The First Clock

In 1873 the misfortune of having to have the tenor bell recast was turned to an advantage for, while Messrs Mears and Stainbeck attended to the matter, the opportunity was taken to install a clock in the tower with small faces on the north and east walls.

The Sundial

An older time piece belonging to the church is the sundial, which has had a rather chequered existence for, although the date on the dial is 1896, the pedestal and plinth go back to the early days of the church. The inscription on the present dial tells us that it was engraved by Armstrong Bros of Deansgate, Manchester in 1896 and that the donor was Thomas Eyre-Mason. The original dial had disappeared some 20 years previously, and even the new one did not escape the vandals attention for, in less than six months of its existence, the gnomon had been removed and, although the vicar's warden offered a £2 reward, the culprit was never apprehended.

However, since its repair in 1897 it has remained intact, although the entire structure has been twice removed from its original position at the east end of the church, first to make way for the memorial chancel in 1925 and again when the old part of the churchyard was landscaped in 1973, when it was moved to near the west end of the church.

Mr Worsley's Retirement

As the years went by Mr Worsley's health began to fail and "so that the ministration of the parish should not suffer" he decided to retire on New Year's Eve 1874.

It was recorded at the time that this announcement was made "much to the sorrow of the poor, who, during their times of sickness and troubles, had benefited by his acts of kindness and liberality, even though many of them were not of his church."

Mr Worsley died on the 13th May 1887, aged 78 years, having outlived his wife Jane, his two daughters and his only son. He was buried in the family grave in the churchyard.