Posts In: News

Dials restored at one of Edinburgh’s landmarks

July 30, 2019 News

Clocks are at the heart of Edinburgh. The famous Balmoral Hotel is one of the City’s many tourist attractions, along with the timeball which marks one o’clock daily. Another clock which many visitors see is located on George Street and adorns the clocktower of St Andrew & St George’s Church. Following many years of operation, it was decided that the clocks should be restored back to their original glory. The three 5ft cast skeleton dials stand proudly above the bustling streets below where many shoppers, tourists and commuters are located. Our team removed the clock hands and then started to…

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Bespoke Clocktower

July 24, 2019 News

Bespoke Clocktower A bespoke clocktower is a feature of the Arkin Group’s new HQ in Girne, Northern Cyprus. Smith of Derby were commissioned to design, fabricate and install the four clock dials for the tower, along with installation of a bell sound system to strike the hours during the day with night silencing programmed for evenings. Working alongside the Arkin Group, who own a host of companies in the leisure industry, Smith of Derby completed their first project in Northern Cyprus. The clocktower was to be both a feature of the state-of-the-art HQ and a focal point of the town…

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Projecting Clock with Eagle Adornment

July 9, 2019 News

The Town of Prescot, Merseyside, has a new feature as part of its busy shopping district, a bespoke projecting clock. The clock, which was recently supplied and installed by Smith of Derby, features a distinctive gold bullion eagle and child to protect the clock from wildlife. As part of the Town’s development, a clock was commissioned in the same location to where a previous projecting clock was located, on Eccleston Street in the Town centre.  The clock was designed to be of an art-deco style, similar to that of the original timepiece. A prominent feature of the new clock is…

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Bespoke Clockwork for Heritage Railway Station

July 2, 2019 News

Keighley & Worth Valley Heritage Railway Station has both tourist visitors travelling on iconic steam trains along with commuters using regular services to other local towns. A key feature of the station is the clock, with a tradition of displaying the time of the next train not the current time. Smith of Derby recently worked alongside the station to ensure the time tradition would continue for many years to follow by creating a bespoke solution for time changes. For many years the clock hands have been manually adjusted by a member of staff, using a step ladder to access the…

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Trooping the Colour

June 18, 2019 News

Clockmaker Paul Kilburn annually attends the Trooping the Colour celebrations at Horse Guards Parade in London to ensure the clock chimes 11 o’clock as the Queen enters in her glass carriage. On the day of the event, this year was Saturday the 8th of June, Paul arrives bright and early at horse Guards parade. However, he doesn’t wear his usual Smith of Derby attire but a suit, including a bespoke Smith of Derby waistcoat. Paul makes his way up to the clock room, which happens to be situated directly above the Royal Family’s seating area, ready for his duties. Paul’s…

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NewsTime

June 4, 2019 News

Its been another busy month at Smith of Derby including a wedding and another apprentice joining the company, which is all included in this team focused addition of news time! New team member… We are delighted to confirm the start of our next apprentice.  This week Jack Biggin, pictured below, joins the Smith of Derby team and our award-winning ‘apprenticeship program’. Jack follows in the footsteps of our hugely successful team of young clockmakers. Jack schooled with our own Mitch Eaton and has many fond memories of Mitchell making him laugh in his school days which we are sure that…

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Hythe Projecting Clock

May 29, 2019 News

Hythe Town Hall has a prominent projecting clock as part of the building facade.  Originally built in 1974, the Town Hall was a Guildhall but now houses Hythe Town council offices. In early 2019 Smith of Derby were commissioned to complete the clock restoration, ensuring it’s a focal point of Hythe for many years to follow.   The clock was installed Circa 1890 when many projecting clocks of a similar design were installed. This trend was because of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, which was celebrated in 1887, as many locations chose to have a commemorative projecting clock. After many years…

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Clock Tower for School Development

May 13, 2019 News

New schools are being built across the City of Glasgow, including in the district of Dalmarnock. At the heart of the campus is a clock tower, with the two clock dials being fabricated and installed by James Ritchie Clockmakers. Originally approached in 2017 when the project was in an early stage, the James Ritchie team worked alongside the construction contractors to ensure that the client’s desire for a bespoke clock tower was delivered. Following on-going discussions, it was decided that the design would be simple black hour markings and hands on a white background. Behind the dial was to be…

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NewsTime

May 8, 2019 News

Once again, it’s been a busy few weeks both in our Derby works and across our various sites in the UK. Here’s just a few things we have been doing. Installation and Servicing So far, the team have serviced an average of 92 clocks per week in 2019 and installed jobs in Oman, Qatar, Ireland and across the UK. Cyprus will soon be added to this list, as two team members head to Girne to install several tower clocks. Team News A ‘new starter’ since the last edition of NewsTIME is Charlie Corr who has joined the Planning team. Not…

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St Peters Church, Titchfield

April 30, 2019 News

The historic village of Titchfield, Hampshire, is the home of St Peters Church. The clock at the church was originally installed by J W Benson in 1887 but has been cared for by Smith of Derby for a number of years. As part of our work we recently installed a new autowind system and pendulum regulator to ensure time keeps ticking for many years to come. The picturesque village in Southern Hampshire dates-back to the 6th century and is famous for its Abbey which has strong associations with Shakespeare. Along with the Abbey is St Peters Church, situated in the…

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