Turret or tower clock Also known as a Great clock, a turret or tower clock is a clock designed to be mounted high on a building. These were the first clocks that appeared on the towers of cathedrals and in town centres during the medieval period. They kept time for the whole community. These early examples did not have hands or a dial to indicate the time; instead, they struck the hour only as it came, thus sounding out the time and calling the monks to prayer. The first turret clock in England is the Salisbury Cathedral clock, made around 1386.
