Plans submitted for renovation of 350-year-old clock in Rutland
The clock was added to Holy Cross Church in 1678
A 350-year-old church clock could receive a golden makeover under plans submitted to a council.
If approved by Rutland County Council, the clock on the tower of Holy Cross Church in Burley would be given an new copper sheet dial, hand-gilded with 23.75 carat “extra thick” gold leaf. The clock hands would also be gilded in gold.
The clock was added to Holy Cross Church in 1678 by celebrated British clock builder Joseph Knibb, where it remained largely unaltered until being restored in 1976. During this period, the clock “lost” traditional materials like the copper sheeting, replaced instead with glass reinforced plastic.
The applicant, a national charity dedicated to the protection and restoration of historic churches called the Churches Conservation Trust, is now looking to implement a “positive impact” on the church by restoring traditional materials, and with them “traditional aesthetics”.
Holy Cross Church was built during the 12th Century, while the tower dates back to the 14th Century.