The following article was originally written by Gerry Pritchard and the late Gordon Holley in 2012 for the publication of the book Risca Male Choir – The First Forty Years

Choristers make sure that at least the clock plays in time

Information provided by Gordon Holley and Gerry Pritchard

A feature of the old council offices that became the choir Headquarters in 1988 was a clock, then not in working order.

Over a pint or two at the Darran pub in Risca, Gordon Holley, suggested to Gerry Pritchard that it would be a good idea to get the clock working again. He had been informed that it had not worked for at least thirty years. Together they decided to renovate the clock and make it tick once more.

Gordon contacted the British Horological Society and spoke to the chairman at the time regarding the intention to renovate the old clock. He was able to provide the name of the original manufacturers: Evans & Sons, Soho Works, Birmingham, and also the name of the only clock repairers that would be able to help with this project.

The firm was contacted but quoted a huge fee for the repair of the clock. The original makers of the clock had been in existence since the early 1800s, working until the First World War when they were making timers for shell warheads; no records are shown for them after 1918. They had installed the clock in the building in 1907 at a cost of £50!

In the light of the cost of employing a professional clock repairer, Gerry and Gordon decided to carry out the repairs themselves.

Both choristers had engineering backgrounds and could see that the workings of the clock were of a high quality. The subsequent work became a labour of love.

The first thing that was needed was a new clock face, in itself quite a challenge. Eventually the clock was fully restored, and what a pleasure it was for Gordon and Gerry to see it working again and hearing the chime once more after many years of silence. The concern now was that the chiming clock would disturb the local residents as it counted out the hours throughout the day and the night. It was reassuring to know that these neighbours actually welcomed the sound of the clock.

Things went well for a while and then the clock stopped working for no apparent reason. Investigations led to the discovery that the workings were affected by temperature change and also the fact that the wooden mounting for the clock allowed for some shift of the alignment of the mechanism, so causing the clock to stop!

A new steel RSA frame was then fabricated and fitted to the interior wall making the clock more stable and enabling it to work once more with no problems.

Another improvement that was made was to make the winding process an easier job than previously when it needed one hand to turn the handle to raise the weights operating the clock, and the other hand to ensure the cables were tightly coiled into the cable drums. Gerry drew up a plan which Gordon and he put into operation on May 16th 2011, so making the clock winding a one hand operation.

The clock has now become Gerry’s baby, and once a week he lovingly tends to its needs, winding and cleaning it and feeding it with its favourite nourishment, duck oil!

April 2021

And so the clock continued to work well, keeping perfect time and chiming the hours with keen regularity. All the skill and effort that was spent on it paid off, and with its position on the front of the building, it really became a familiar feature and focal point of the façade.

Gerry picks up the story from sometime last year. 

There was an incident in early 2020 when an accidental overwind occurred that caused the clock weights cable to come off its pulley and completely jammed any movement within the wooden box section.

With access almost impossible from the loft and the position of the weights carrier, at its highest point vertically in the box, the only way to free the jam was to cut an opening in the box section large enough to allow the weights to be removed from the carrier.

Before any of the work could begin, a scaffold platform had to be erected up to the work area and made safe and secure.

A large hole was then cut, by jigsaw, into the box section, which allowed the necessary work to begin. The weights were removed, the jam was exposed and eventually cleared.

All necessary items were restored and the clock was back in good working order.

A new access door was made and fitted by chorister Alan Davis and looks very professional indeed!

Thanks must go to Alan and chorister Kevin Lovett for their time and expertise in carrying out this difficult project.

At the time of writing, February 2, 2021, I have to report that the clock is not fully functional. For the first time in recent years it has not been running with its normal accuracy – It has been losing time!

After a short visual examination of the mechanical movement nothing obvious was found that could cause this situation, and we put it down to the extreme cold conditions it is working in. I shortened the pendulum to speed it up a little and this seemed to do the trick, only to find a couple of weeks later it had started to lose time again.

Our latest trial was to disconnect the link between the clock and the chimes mechanism, and again, for a week or so, it has been keeping good time.

Because of the extreme weather conditions we are unable to work in the loft for long periods (unless someone with “BRAZING” experience is on standby!) We intend to carry out further remedial work when the situation improves. Until then, chorister Chris Halford will continue to wind the clock once a week as usual.

On the 23rd February 2021 the weather warmed up enough to allow Chris Halford and me to carry on the remedial work on the clock. The clock on its own had been working well and keeping good time, but we needed to reconnect the chimes to restore it to its former glory.

Before we started, we gave the clock mechanism another quick examination and whilst doing so noticed that the pendulum and escapement gear were slightly out of line, and this was corrected.

We then gave the chimes mechanism a ‘dummy’ 12 hour run and everything worked perfectly. So feeling very confident that all was well again, we reconnected the two mechanisms.

I’m pleased to report that after one week, and a bit of fine tuning, the clock appears to be working well again.

I would like to take this opportunity of thanking fellow chorister, Chris Halford, for the great help he has been to me over the past year and I hope that he will carry on with the weekly task of winding and lubricating the clock in my stead.

Gerry

Gerry explains the details to be seen in these recent photographs

To the right of the white dial is the Clock Mechanism, and to the left is the Chimes Mechanism.

There are two sets of weights, one for each of the sections that drive the clock. The two spindles with the square ends are used to rewind the weights.

The brass disc with the slots in is the controller of the release of the chimes. In its present position it is set to sound 12 o’clock next. (The time the photo was taken is exactly 11.18).

Behind the white dial is the trigger that lifts the lever out of the brass disc allowing the weights to descend and the chiming sequence begin.

The new support frame that replaced the old timber one can be clearly seen against the stonework.

Above the clock is the bell chime and hammer. The hammer is connected by levers to a cam arrangement that allows it to be raised and dropped to make contact with the bell at the appropriate time.

The pendulum is also another stand out feature.