Time ticks again as school clock fixed (From Swindon Advertiser)

Time ticks again as school clock fixed

3:10pm Wednesday 17th March 2010 in

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TIME has stood still on Drove Road for the last 30 years.

But now the clock on top of Drove Primary School, a Swindon landmark, is finally ticking again.

The school has never known why the clock originally stopped at ten to three and its mysterious past has become legendary among schoolchildren.

But, two weeks ago, it took clock restorer Martyn Edwards only a day to get the 1960s synchronous electric clock back in action.

He said: “It’s nice to think you have given that bit back.”

Drove Primary headteacher Nick Capstick said: “It really is quite special as part of the history of Drove Primary School.

“Obviously it’s a focal point for the town, it lights up at night so the travellers can see it as they pass by.”

Mr Capstick said it had been a project of his for several years to get it fixed, but had been told repairs would be too expensive due to the clock’s age.

Mr Edwards, who has been in the restoring business for the last year and runs Wiltshire Clock Repairs in Wroughton, approached the school offering to complete the work free of charge.

For years he said he had passed the clock every day and thought he ought to make enquiries, especially because friends of his who live nearby had mentioned it to him.

It took Mr Edwards an hour to take the clock down and then another day to clean it out.

“It was a bit dirty and full of dead animals,” he said.

Part of the problem was that the old oil had built up and the bearings had come out of alignment.

He said given how long it had taken the school to get it fixed, he had been surprised by how straightforward the repair had been.

Mr Capstick said: “I don’t exactly know why it stopped.

“The kids have got all their own theories, they have created legends for why it stopped.

“Swindon is changing quite rapidly and it really is becoming a special place.

“It’s nice that something from the past is still working.

“It’s almost like a phoenix of Swindon.”

Mr Edwards said he was pleased to be able to say he restored something so well known.

He said: “They are a focal point.

“Any public clock people do look at it because it’s a functional item, we all still live by clocks, I guess we always will.

“That’s what draws me to that type of clock that was installed and paid for because people couldn’t afford to have a clock of their own.

“For people going to the football they can see what time it is before kick-off, it’s going to well well used.”