THE long overdue refurbishment work on the South Petherwin church clock has been completed.

The clock was installed originally in 1911 to celebrate the Coronation of King George V. The original clockmakers and installers, Messrs Gillett and Johnston of Croydon Surrey, undertook this new work that involved taking down the two clock faces and ‘hands’ from the tower.

The last time this operation was done was, according to local records, over fifty years ago.

The team abseiled down the outside of the tower to remove the exterior parts and have now been repainted and re-gilded in Cornish black and gold, then replaced.

The work was not without incident as during the final installation it was found that some of the original metal controlling rods had, through age, ‘crystallised’ and both 21st century technology and 19th century ingenuity was required to achieve a result that should last for another fifty years.

A spokesperson said: “As you pass through the village now your eye will be drawn to the Church and the bright and shiny renewed clock faces. Everything is the same as previously.”

The clock — still wound three times a week by hand by a stalwart band of volunteers — chimes the ‘quarter’ and ‘strikes’ the hours.

The village of South Petherwin expressed its thanks to all who have supported the project in any way.