The clock at the top of an historic Powys church could be bonging proudly over the town once again after several years out of action.

After years of campaigning to raise funds towards restoring the mechanism of the clock at St Mary’s Church in Llanfair Caereinion, funding to repair the mechanism has been secured.

The Friends of Llanfair Clock group, formed in November 2022 with the aim of raising funds to repair the eighteenth-century mechanism, confirmed that a specialist turret clock engineers, Smith of Derby will arrive in April to begin the process of removing the clock face for vital repairs to be carried out.

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.

The repair work will involve removing the clock face, a complex job that will reportedly take multiple days, removing part of the mechanism for them to be stripped, cleaned and reworked at Smith’s specialist workshops and repairing the oak casing on which is stands.

Susan Whitehouse, chair of Friends of Llanfair Clock, said: “Anyone who has visited Llanfair Caereinion recently knows that time seems to have stood still, with the clock on the church tower at the centre of the town stuck at ten to ten. Many have mourned its loss, and the accompanying ‘bongs’ as they have been a key part of community life for over a hundred years.

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“The plan is to not just get the clock working again but to also have the clock face re-enamelled and gilded so that it will continue to display the time at least another 139 years.

“The community has been very supportive of a range of events; the Community Flower Festival last summer was particularly well attended. The Friends have also received significant funding from Tirgwynt Community Fund, who have provided a grant of £2,500.

“A number of individual donations have also been received that have helped to boost the fund total.

“From its inception the Committee has wanted to raise sufficient funds, not just to repair the clock but to ensure that a specific fund would be available to ensure the ongoing maintenance of the clock.

“When work is complete all will be reinstated in our clock tower and the bong will once more ring out across the town.”