Many in the Parish may have noticed that the church clock is not registering the
time. It has to be repaired! Although the clock is under the care of the Parish
Church this is part of the treasure, which belongs to the whole Parish. A
Honiton clock maker originally made the clock in 1748. From time to time it has
been repaired. In 2000 the winding mechanism was electrified. This was to
reduce the need of a person climbing up many steps to rewind two heavy
weights daily. The present problem is on the hour hand, which is entangled with the minute
hand. This has caused a gear in the dial gearbox to slip on its shaft.
To complete this repair the dial and hands have to be dropped to the ground.
As this is a major operation it has been decided by the PCC that the dial itself
and hands be completely refurbished by an experienced clock company, the
rest of the repair by a team of experienced persons from the Parish. The
Roman numerals will be copied and replaced with gold leaf as originally,
repaired we think in the early 30s.
The total cost of the project is likely to be in the region of £1,500 without the
unexpected. The Parish Council has agreed in principal to help. We are
confident that any shortfall can be made up by the generosity of us all, each in a
small way. To this end we will try to collect money in different ways over the next
few weeks. Please keep your eyes open for possible boxes in shops and
envelopes in this Pump. Or even a donation if a bit bigger to Dennis Hart or the
Church Wardens would be gratefully received. Thank you all in anticipation of
your help.
The work should be completed by the end of February.
Peter Reed
Church Warden