Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Puglia Italy - Matera
Italy • 8 days, 7 nights
Southern Italy: Castles, Caves & Coastal Treasures in Puglia
from
Turkmenistan Gates of Hell Darvaza crater
Turkmenistan • 10 days, 9 nights
Turkmenistan & the Gates of Hell
from
View all trips
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United Kingdom England London Giants of St. Dunstan-in-the-West
AO Edited

Giants of St. Dunstan-in-the-West

A pair of club-wielding guardians stand watch over London's first public clock to feature a minute hand.

London, England

Added By
morganjplain , Michelle Cassidy
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Giants of St. Dunstan-in-the-West   AndyScott / CC BY-SA 4.0
St. Dunstan in the West clock   Fred Romero / CC BY-SA 2.0
St. Dunstan in the West clock   ROBERT MOORE / CC BY 2.0
St Dunstan-in-the-West   Doyle of London / CC BY-SA 4.0
St Dunstan in the West   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  jcgire / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  jcgire / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Giants of St. Dunstan-in-the-West   Xavixavir / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Two giants stand behind the clock outside St. Dunstan-in-the-West. They watch over one of the two timepieces on the façade of the Fleet Street church, believed to be the first public clock in London to include a minute hand.

St. Dunstan-in-the-West has occupied a space on Fleet Street since the medieval era. The clock and its giants were a later addition, installed on the front of the church in 1671. It sticks out from the front of the church and features faces on both sides, so passers-by could see the time from either direction. In an alcove behind the clock stand two giants holding clubs and dressed in gilded animal skins. The figures are automata, equipped with mechanisms that allow their heads to turn and their arms to move, striking bells to mark the hour and quarter-hour.

Some say that the giants represent Gog and Magog, a pair of legendary figures seen as traditional protectors of London. (A set of mechanical Gog and Magog figures guard another ornate clock in Melbourne, Australia.) St. Dunstan was a medieval bishop who was very popular due to defeating the devil by pinching his nose and nailing a horseshoe to his hoof, preventing him from entering a place where a horseshoe was displayed. Thus the horseshoe became a symbol of good luck.

In the early 19th century, St. Dunstan-in-the-West's original structure was demolished to make space for Fleet Street to be widened. Before the building came down, the 17th-century clock was carefully removed from its façade and stored in a mansion in Regent's Park. A new church was built, and the timepiece and its guardian giants were reinstated.

Though the church was hit by German bombs during the London Blitz, the damage was relatively minor compared to that suffered by St. Dunstan-in-the-East down the road.

The automatons and bells remain in place today, and can be easily seen from the street.

Related Tags

Automata Astounding Timepieces Churches Giant Statues Clocks

Know Before You Go

The clock is on the right hand side of St. Dunstan-in-the-West church.

Look out for the well-preserved advertising mosaic on the building next door. 

Community Contributors

Added By

morganjplain, Michelle Cassidy

Edited By

SEANETTA, jooniur, Xavixavir, jcgire

  • SEANETTA
  • jooniur
  • Xavixavir
  • jcgire

Published

November 9, 2022

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://www.stdunstaninthewest.org/history
  • https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMHEC6_Gog_Magog_Epic_Beings_Fleet_Street_London_Great_Britain
  • https://exploring-london.com/tag/gog-and-magog/
Giants of St. Dunstan-in-the-West
186a Fleet St
London, England, EC4A 2HR
United Kingdom
51.514181, -0.110193
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Urine Deflectors of Fleet Street

London, England

miles away

Temple Bar Memorial Dragon

London, England

miles away

Temple Church

London, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of London

London

England

Places 536
Stories 108

Nearby Places

Urine Deflectors of Fleet Street

London, England

miles away

Temple Bar Memorial Dragon

London, England

miles away

Temple Church

London, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of London

London

England

Places 536
Stories 108

Related Stories and Lists

The Astounding World of Automata

List

By Jonathan Carey

Related Places

  • Winters Clock

    Stockport, England

    Winter's Clock

    Three mechanical figures—a soldier, a sailor, and Father Time—announce the time on this local landmark.

  • Cervantes, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza

    Ciudad Real, Spain

    Chime Clock at Casa del Arco

    Ciudad Real's former town hall found new life in 2005 when the chime clock with automatons was installed.

  • Lyon, France

    Horloge Charvet

    After decades of damage, this feat of timekeeping and automaton art has been given a new lease on life.

  • Front view of El Papamoscas

    Burgos, Spain

    El Papamoscas

    For more than half a millennia, this automaton has rung an hourly bell.

  • Peacock Clock

    Saint Petersburg, Russia

    Peacock Clock

    A 250-year-old timepiece-automaton adorned with golden mechanical birds, which still sing to this day.

  • Dial of Astronomical Clock of Lyon.

    Lyon, France

    Astronomical Clock of Lyon

    For hundreds of years, automatons moving to metallic music have been marking the passage of time.

  • Rathaus-Glockenspiel

    Munich, Germany

    Rathaus-Glockenspiel

    Daily jousts and dancing barrel makers in Munich's mechanical clock.

  • Close-up of a dragon head at Maison de la Magie

    Blois, France

    Mechanical Dragon Clock

    A beautiful and classically designed villa, with an hourly infestation of monsters.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.