Less than a week after being returned to its home at the top of a church tower following repairs, an iconic Powys clock has stopped once again.
Having been still for a number of years, Llanfair Caereinion residents were delighted to see and hear the return of their beloved clock, only to find it had stopped again just a few days later.
The clock was returned on August 13, with a team from clockmakers Smith of Derby hoisting the newly repaired timekeeper up the tower of St Mary’s Church. However, by Saturday, August 17, residents had noticed that the clock was silent once again.
The issue was reported to Sue Whitehouse, chair of the Friends of Llanfair Clock group that was set up to organise and fund repairs to the church’s historic mechanism.
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She said: “I know many are disappointed that the clock has stopped working again. I have been in touch with Smith’s of Derby this morning and made them aware of the situation.
“They have agreed to arrange for one of their clockmakers to visit to carry out an inspection to see what is wrong.
“I have no idea how long that will take as they are contacting me direct to make the arrangements. Once I know more, I will share the information.”
While it is unclear what has caused the clock to stop and what the nature of the problem is, restoring and repairing the device was described as a “complex” job by clockmakers Smith of Derby.
Friends of Llanfair Clock was established in November 2022, after the clock stopped as a result of the oak framework rotting, leaving the mechanism exposed to the elements and no longer in alignment with the clock face.
Repairing it required Smith of Derby to scale the tower and lower the clock face from its high home using ropes and pullies, before carrying out specialist repairs at their workshop that saw them removing parts of the mechanism for them to be stripped, cleaned and reworked as well as repairing the oak casing on which is stands.
Returning the clock was then delayed by some “minor issues” and the complexity of raising it to its home in the church tower.
Whether getting the clock ticking again will be a quick fix or part of a longer repair job is yet to be seen.
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