Iconic town clock set for £11,500 of repairs

Cumbria Clock Co Ltd will start work on the repair and maintenance of the clock on St Mary de Haura Church, in the town centre.

The work will involve the installation of new motors for the lifting of the weights and a general overhaul of the clock workings.

Churchwarden Ian Tompkin said: “The Friends of St Mary’s were extremely fortunate in winning the bid for the capital Pot of Gold Grant of £11,500 last May.”

He has invited the Shoreham Herald to visit the clock room to see the works and learn more about the work from the contractors. Look out for a feature in the next few weeks.

Mr Tompkin pointed out: “There are only a very small number of people who have seen the clock workings, which date from 1896.

“As the grant has been made available by Adur Council, we think that this will be an excellent opportunity to explain to the town how the grant money is being used.”

The article in the Herald on January 16 about the ancient nave in St Mary’s churchyard being saved from the threat of collapse has attracted a huge amount of interest in the town and further afield.

Mr Tompkin said: “We have placed a copy of the article on the main notice board inside the church and this has drawn the attention of many who have visited the church over the past two weeks to the significance of the ruined nave.

“This is in addition to the positive feedback from many people in the town. It has been noticeable that even greater numbers of people have been stopping to read the panel, which the article draws them to.

“The photographs show the graphic transformation, from the careful removal of the ivy, along with a clear explanation of the restoration work. It is good that the dedicated and careful work of Dave Stringer is placed on record.”

Mr Stringer revealed he had once had the job of winding the town clock, before it was electrified in 1973.

A major overhaul of the timepiece was carried out in November 2007 – the first in 33 years. The clock was cleaned and repaired, the faces re-gilded and major works on the mechanisms were carried out.