Profile of a man who alters clocks and restores timepieces in London; a local human-interest story about his work.
We'll all get an extra hour of sleep when the clocks go back on the last Sunday of October05:00, 25 Oct 2025At daybreak, whilst most Londoners remain fast asleep, Andrew Strangeway cycles silently over Westminster Bridge, bearing the weight of responsibility for a 165 year old national timepiece. He serves as guardian of a clock that has taken centre stage during coronations, commemorations, and countless moments of British history.We meet Andrew Strangeway - the clock mechanic of Big Ben.We'll all get an extra hour of sleep when the clocks go back on the last Sunday of October. That'll be Sunday, October 26; which will be one of Andrew's most hectic days at work. It falls to the 38 year old to adjust the capital's timekeeping across hundreds of clocks throughout the Palace of Westminster and ensure they chime precisely on schedule.Andrew typically begins his day before 7am, traversing an unusually peaceful Westminster Bridge on his bicycle as gentle dawn light illuminates the Palace. Whilst others marvel at The Great Clock, Andrew ascends all 334 steps."There is definitely pressure for sure," Andrew confessed as we strolled around the Palace of Westminster. "Especially on specific days. Remembrance Sunday - you've got to get that right. New Year's Eve... quite a lot of people watching that one, just a few million."It's not just The Great Clock that depends on Andrew to keep ticking through the years; a vast collection of 300 heritage timepieces scattered throughout the Palace of Westminster also relies on him.They maintain time in rooms you'd likely recognise from the news, such as the 1922 committee room."The clocks going forward is big day and it's going to be a long weekend. We're in Saturday and Sunday because as well as these 300 heritage clocks there are also something to the order of two or 3,000 other quartz clocks and centralised systems, all of which need changing."All of these require manual adjustment to the correct time - 3,300 in total.Big Ben wa