Visited the Salisbury Cathedral yesterday in England. It’s the most impressive cathedral I’ve seen, and I’ve seen many in the British Isles and Europe. Not only is it huge, but is beautiful and well preserved and restored. The management has done a wonderful job of not only making it an interesting and educational experience for visitors, but they have kept it relevant to the local population. Among the non-religious items is an original and best preserved copy of the Magna Carta. There are only 4 originals; all in England. There is also the world’s oldest working mechanical clock. In the gift shop, there is a penny press; so, I had to try it. There were several designs to choose; so, I chose the Magna Carta. Put in a penny and pound in random orientation and turned the big wheel … no motorized press, so took some effort. It’s a rotatory press so the flattened penny is curved. By dumb luck, the side of the penny with the denomination faced the press and was at the top of the image. If you look at the picture below, you can see the denomination at the top. Having trouble reading the circular inscription in the middle? Me too. But it’s one of the seals of King John, who was forced to sign the document by the nobility. A clear image is below. I’ll leave the Latin translation to you. Last picture is of the clock; made about 1386. It has no face because it was designed to ring a bell at intervals. The clock part is on the right; the bell ringer is on the left. The bell is above the ceiling; so you can’t see it. The clock is powered by weights; one for the clock mechanism, one for the bell ringer. The small weight at the back, near the center, is for the clock mechanism, the larger weight is for the bell ringer. Ropes for the weights go up into the belfry, around pulleys, and back down. Mike
