In 1292, Canterbury Cathedral installed a 'great horloge'
Over the next 30 years there are brief mentions of clocks at a number of ecclesiastical institutions in England, Italy, and France
In 1322, a new clock was installed in Norwich, an expensive replacement for an earlier clock installed in 1273
This had a large (2 metre) astronomical dial with automata and bells
The costs of the installation included the full-time employment of two clockkeepers for two years.
Early astronomical clocks
Richard of Wallingford pointing to a clock, his gift to St Albans Abbey
Besides the Chinese astronomical clock of Su Song in 1088 mentioned above, in Europe there were the clocks constructed by Richard of Wallingford in St Albans by 1336, and by Giovanni de Dondi in Padua from 1348 to 1364
They no longer exist, but detailed descriptions of their design and construction survive, and modern reproductions have been made
They illustrate how quickly the theory of the mechanical clock had been translated into practical constructions, and also that one of the many impulses to their development had been the desire of astronomers to investigate celestial phenomena.
Wallingford's clock had a large astrolabe-type dial, showing the sun, the moon's age, phase, and node, a star map, and possibly the planets
In addition, it had a wheel of fortune and an indicator of the state of the tide at London Bridge
Bells rang every hour, the number of strokes indicating the time.
Dondi's clock was a seven-sided construction, 1 metre high, with dials showing the time of day, including minutes, the motions of all the known planets, an automatic calendar of fixed and movable feasts, and an eclipse prediction hand rotating once every 18 years.
It is not known how accurate or reliable these clocks would have been
They were probably adjusted manually every day to compensate for errors caused by wear and imprecise manufacture.
Water clocks are sometimes still used today, and can be examined in places such as ancient castles and museums.
The Salisbury Cathedral clock, built in 1386, is considered to be the world's oldest surviving mechanical clock that strikes the hours.
Later developments
Clockmakers developed their art in various ways