Posts In: Gold Leaf

Monument representing Switzerland gleams again!

December 4, 2020 Public

We recently completed a refurbishment of the Wappenbaum Canton Tree, one of two monuments in Swiss Court, located between Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus in London. The other being the Swiss Glockenspiel clock which we restored & reengineered as a free standing structure in 2011 and maintain to this day – so we know the area well. The Swiss Glockenspiel that we restored in 2011  The Wappenbaum has been a bit of a different project for our team to work on, one without a clock! Our engineers attended the site and removed, from the tree, the intricately detailed decorative components…

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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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Rope Access Clock Projects

August 15, 2019 Church

Our latest recruit, Jason Budd, means we can complete clock dial restorations and rope access work even more efficiently than before! Jason is an IRATA level 3 supervisor, meaning he can lead our rope access work without the need for an external operator. This was recently put to test on a dial restoration in London, where team completed a dial restoration. Apprentice clockmaker Mitchell Eaten worked alongside Jason at St Lawrence Church in Morden to restore the 4ft copper dial from rope access equipment. Mitchell, who is IRATA level 1 qualified, led the restoration process whilst Jason ensured it was…

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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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Saltoun House Sundials Restoration

December 18, 2018 News

Situated between the villages of Pencaitland and East Saltoun lay the historic Saltoun Hall, a 12th century tower and castle, two traditional clock dials along with a sun dial and an astrological dial.  The dials, which are located on the turret at the hall, were in abeyance for several years before James Ritchie Clockmakers restored them and brought them back to working order. Following the removal of the four dials from the East Lothian location, they were transported to the Smith of Derby Group’s base in the midlands for the process to begin. The first step was to strip back the…

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