Historic Powys clock to be reinstalled later this summer

Smith of Derby, the specialist clockmakers whom removed the clockface from St Mary’s Church in Llanfair Caereinion to repair the historic mechanism, have confirmed that the timekeeper should be back in place this summer.

The company are aiming to re-install the clock on the church tower on July 2 and July 3, having nearly completed repairs to the face and hands of the tower’s centrepiece.

The clock was removed in April so repairs could be carried out, a complex job that required using ropes and pullies to remove the clock from the tower and safely lower it to the ground. Smith of Derby said that the task of putting it back on will be an even bigger challenge.

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Julie Breward, head of planning at Smith of Derby, said: “The repair work on the clock is nearly finished. We are just waiting on a date for our rope team to be free so they can put the clock back in place. But our planned date is July 2 and July 3.

“They will probably travel down to Llanfair on Tuesday and set up all the ropes with an anchorage point. It involves one member of the team pulling the rope up while the other climbs up the side of the wall to guide the clock face up.

“Putting the entire thing back after restoration is an even more complicated process than removing it. Having repaired it to full working order, we have to be even more careful not to damage it after al the hard work of restoring it.”

The complex job of removing the clock took multiple days to complete. The steep turret meant that scaffolding cannot go up, meaning the job had to be carried out using ropes and pullies.

The fully working clock will hopefully be restored to its place on St Mary’s Church tower after years of fundraising by Friends of Llanfyllin clock, a group that was formed in November 2022 with the aim of restoring the clock to full working order.

Ms Breward added: “Repairing the hands meant stripping them back to the bare metal, before they were painted and gilded. It was quite time consuming but will hopefully all be worth it when it’s fully restored.”