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Rare one-handed clock restored to former glory

Louise Fewster/BBC Image shows man with grey hair wearing a purple T-shirt and a bright yellow jacket applying gold leaf to the middle of the clock hand which is on bright blue background and yellow Roman numerals around the clock faceLouise Fewster/BBC
Shaun Pickard reapplied 23-carat gold leaf to the numerals on the landmark clock

A rare one-handed clock dating back to the 18th Century has been returned to its colourful former glory after years of becoming weathered and worn.

Gold leaf has been reapplied to the numerals of the landmark clock at York Castle Museum, and its face has been repainted in blue and black.

Restorers said the timepiece, made by John Terry of York, was the only one of its kind in the city, with only around a dozen thought to exist anywhere in the country.

Geoff Hutchinson, estates manager for York Museums Trust, said it had been “quite a privilege” to help bring the timepiece back to life.

York Museums Trust Image on the left is the clock on a faint blue background with faded Roman numerals and one big hand with the image on the right showing the clock restored on a bright blue background with yellow Roman numerals and the big hand pointing at the 11York Museums Trust
The clock had suffered years of weathering (left) before it was restored in a 10-day project (right)

The clock was originally installed in 1716 on what was then York Debtors' Prison, which had been opened 11 years earlier.

It was fitted on a piece of the building called the cupola which acted - and still acts - as a ventilation tower.

Such a clock, with only an hour hand, was very common in the 1700s, according to York Castle Museum staff.

Mr Hutchinson said it had been speculated that because life moved at a slower pace when the clock was first installed, people did not need to know the exact time.

Its restoration was made possible in part thanks to a £2,500 grant from The Pilgrim Trust charity.

'Really sad'

The work was deemed necessary after York Museums Trust found the timepiece was in desperate need of attention.

“When I looked back over at Clifford’s Tower, I thought what a fantastic thing," Mr Hutchinson said.

"Then I looked opposite at the clock and I thought, this looks really sad and we’ve got to do something about it."

York Museums Trust worked with a specialist in historic paints to look underneath the weathered paintwork to develop the new paint and keep it true to the original.

Contractor Shaun Pickard, who applied 23-carat gold leaf to the clock's numerals, said it had been exciting to be a part of the 10-day restoration project.

“The weather has been kind to us, because gold leaf and the breeze don’t mix very well," he said.

Louise Fewster/BBC Image shows the inside workings of the one-handed clock in a wooden cabinet with lots of big and small cogsLouise Fewster/BBC
The clock takes eight days to wind down, with a member of York's clock-winding team winding it back up every seven days

York Museums Trust said a plaque would now be installed between the wings of the former Debtors' Prison - now part of the Castle Museum - to explain how to read a one-handed clock.

Mr Hutchinson said: “It is only when you get up close do you see the little triangles which represent the quarter-hours.

"That's when you realise it's how to read the clock."

The newly-restored clock on the Castle Museum takes eight days to wind down and, as a result, a volunteer has to wind it up again every Tuesday.

“I love the clock. It’s a fantastic asset in York,” Mr Hutchinson said.

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