Posts In: Public Time

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Time to Remember

November 6, 2020 Remembrance

Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day are set to be very different this year. People are being encouraged to mark the days appropriately in their own way. A great example of this is the memorial clock, looked after by our clockmakers, in the centre of Pelsall in Walsall which has been decorated for Remembrance Day every year since 2015 in a different theme. In its inaugural year, 15,000 red knitted poppies made by volunteers were put on the clock and nearby benches creating a striking display. This year the theme is the Battle of Britain and three Spitfires, crafted locally, look…

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Proud to restore time on Memorial Clock Tower Coalville Leicestershire

October 8, 2018 Church, Heritage, Public, Traditional

A specialist restoration project of the Memorial Clock Tower in Coalville, which included the overhaul of the 4 5ft skeleton dials which occupy the Grade II listed tower on the High Street, Leicestershire. North West Leicestershire District Council approached Smith of Derby, British Clockmaker Tower specialists to inspect the clock and dial works whilst scaffolding was already in place for masonry, steelwork and roofing repairs. The clock tower is an important landmark for the Coalville community and it was an opportune moment to clean and repair the dials. Martin Butchers, Smith of Derby Technical Sales Engineer, carried out the inspection…

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The Hourglass Clock at Burghley House

September 3, 2018 News, Uncategorized

As the Burghley Horse Trials come to an end for another year, we look back to 2009 and our work at Burghley House, Lincolnshire, which is a major landmark at the prestigious equestrian event. We were asked to design, fabricate and install a feature clock for the house gardens, which would allude to the seafaring ancestry of the Burghley family, in whose gardens the timepiece is located. The hourglass pedestal bears 12 icons which correspond with each passing hour. They correlate with specific stories relating to members of the family including Lord Burghley, English statesman and friend to Queen…

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Jubilee Clock Tower Restoration, Weymouth

August 28, 2018 Public, Traditional

As the summer draws to a close and Autumn gets closer, we look back at one of our most famous projects, which will have been seen by an unprecedented number of visitors during this record-breaking summer. The Jubilee Clock Tower, Weymouth. The Jubilee Clock tower is steeped in both history and tradition, standing on the esplanade of Weymouth, at the heart of the Dorset coastline. However, the clock originally stood closer to the beach before the esplanade was expanded and the clock tower was moved further back from the sand to protect it from the many weather fronts. The original…

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Community Clock Work, Northleach

August 21, 2018 Heritage, News, Public, Seasons, Time, Traditional

We were recently approached to restore the Cotswold Hall’s projecting clock, a timepiece which is a real focal point of the community. The clock, which overlooks the towns West End, was originally installed in 1897 to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee and has a distinctive crown on top of it The clock became abeyant following extremely heavy snowfall in the winter months, which led to further works to being discussed including a dial restoration as the timepiece was in poor condition. This is seen as a significant part of a vital community building which is used by many local groups…

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In the news this August

August 13, 2018 News

Our team here at Smith of Derby have had another busy summer, both in the works and out on various sites across the UK. All departments have been working hard during this heatwave on many different projects, with the odd ice cream being enjoyed along the way! Our traditional sector has been extremely busy with many different jobs taking place, both in the works and by our engineers across the UK. Our engineer Matthew Smith recently completed various works on a local church clock. The client, who happens to be a Fellow of the British Horological Institute (FBHI) and has…

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Clocks in the media

August 6, 2018 Church, Heritage, News, Public, Time, Traditional

The interest in both our clocks and clockmakers has been phenomenal of late, with some of our clockmakers feeling more like celebrities than craftsman! Stories have been run by several local BBC Radio shows, a local newspaper in the Scottish highlands and even a snippet on the local ITV news in Devon.  Whilst on a recent trip to the island of Jersey, clockmaker Paul Kilburn was maintaining clock at the Holy Trinity church when BBC Radio Jersey approached him for an interview. The interview explained Paul’s work at the church, and gave an overview of Smith of Derby. Not long after Paul…

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