diff --git a/synapse/storage/_base.py b/synapse/storage/_base.py
index 56a0dd80f3..32c6677d47 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/_base.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/_base.py
@@ -152,6 +152,7 @@ class SQLBaseStore(object):
 
     def __init__(self, hs):
         self.hs = hs
+        self._clock = hs.get_clock()
         self._db_pool = hs.get_db_pool()
 
         self._previous_txn_total_time = 0