'Joke' church clock chimes again

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/wales/south_east/8194286.stm

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A church clock that was so unreliable it had become a "joke" to many people is finally working and chiming again after more than 25 years.

The Reverend Marcus Green said time often went too quickly, too slowly or even not at all on the clock at St Catherine's Church, Pontypridd.

But now the church tower timepiece is working again after its mechanisms were repaired by Rhondda Cynon Taf council.

Mr Green said locals had told him they were "delighted" to hear the chimes.

The vicar, who has been at the church since 2000, said there was some dispute about how long ago the clock had last chimed but it was agreed that it was "at least 25 years".

The clock at St Catherine's Church now chimes every 15 minutes

He said ever since he had been at St Catherine's, the clock had been seen as a "joke" in the town because it rarely told the correct time.

"Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. To say it was temperamental is an understatement," said Mr Green.

"But this year when I put the clock forward, it started going really fast. After a few days, it was 25 minutes faster than it should have been. So I decided to just stop it."

The vicar was then asked to be the chosen chaplain for Rhondda Cynon Taf's incoming mayor, Councillor Rob Smith.

The vicar said he "cheekily" asked Mr Smith if he could help with repairs to the clock.

"Although it's on the church, it's actually the responsibility of Rhondda Cynon Taf council because it was donated to the people of Pontypridd by some locals in 1890.

"Thankfully, they agreed to help and called in workmen to look at the clock. They said there were a whole series of problems with it. Over the years the clock hands outside got weather beaten. They'd got damaged and twisted."

Workers found there were numerous faults with the clock's mechanism

After fixing the clock, the workmen then told the vicar that it should be able to chime - something he had never been told before.

"They fixed the chime too and now the clock chimes every 15 minutes. It's wonderful, I love it and it's really comforting to hear."

"The church is a landmark in Pontypridd and I'm continually being stopped on the street with people telling me how great they think it is.

"A guy stopped me the other day and said that the clock had been a joke for as long as he could remember and we have turned it into something to remember.

'Chime'

"I was a bit worried that some people would be a bit annoyed if it woke them up at night but I live next door to church and you can hardly hear the chime that side.

"Thankfully we haven't had any complaints over the last two weeks it's been chiming."

A council spokeswoman said the work meant "the town now has a reliable clock for years to come".

Mr Smith said: "I was pleased to be able to support the extensive work at such an iconic church and to help the mayoral chaplain repair St Catherine's for the benefit of everyone in the town."