Posts In: Conservation

St Michael & All Angels Church Dial Refurbishment

April 3, 2020 News

The village of Shirley, Derbyshire is the home to St Michael & All Angels Church. The clock at the Church was installed in 1902 and regularly cared for by Smith of Derby. As part of our work we have recently refurbished and repaired the Churches clock dial, to bring it back to its original fabricated aesthetic. As part of our work we have recently refurbished and repaired the Churches clock dial, to bring it back to its original fabricated aesthetic. The picturesque village situated in the countryside in Derbyshire dates-back to the middle ages and is very well known for…

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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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NewsTime

July 16, 2019 Uncategorized

As summer reaches its height and children across the UK prepare to finish school for another year, there is no slowing down for the Smith of Derby team as we continue our hard work to keep the worlds time ticking! The last few weeks has seen another new team member join our famous company and more international work commence. New Team Member We are delighted to confirm the start of our next apprentice! It seems strange to write the word ‘apprentice’ when introducing our latest new member of the team. Jason Budd is a highly qualified IRATA rope access trained…

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Conserving Public Time: stories behind the faces

May 30, 2018 Church, Heritage, News, Personnel, Public, Time, Traditional

There’s more behind a clock dial than meets the eye. All have subtle differences, more so in the mechanisms. And much like their buildings, when getting old clocks need more looking after. Since 1856, Smith of Derby has come to know thousands of public clocks quite intimately, whilst their new generation of clockmaking apprentices hone the skills essential to keep them ticking. Behind Smith’s name is a history of partnerships. William Potts of Leeds dates from 1833; James Ritchies clocks have graced Scotland’s landmarks since 1809, and J B Joyce began in Shropshire in 1690. Putting their years of experience…

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