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A Faceless Tower
 The massive tower of St James lost its clock face early in May 2004 when the restorers removed it. |
The Spindle Socket
 Using a long lens camera we got an amazingly clear picture of the spidle socket now stuffed with sacking. |
The Bolts
 The clock was installed about 150 years ago and the bolts took some shifting. Note also the louvres of the belfry above which are designed to deflect the noise of the bells dowbnwards so they do not cause too much disturbance to houses nearby.
Melsonby has a ring of four bells which are, regretably, only rung occasionally by visiting ringers. |
The Clock Face
 The clock face is blue with the Roman numerals and borders in gold. The whole face will be repainted and the gilding redone in gold leaf. When it is finished it will look really beautiful.
We were fortunate enough to be able to photograph it in the church baptistry before it departs. |
150 years service
 The people from Cumbria Clock Company who removed the clock said that it had not been removed since it was installed. They could tell this because the nuts holding it in place were not only almost unremoveable but had also been painted round at some time. |
How to Help
 The clock will be away for several weeks but soon should be gracing Melsonby once more. The work on the clock is costing £1840 which is quite a large sume for the church-goers of Melsonby to find. However, everyone in the village has been sent a letter asking them to help out with this project even if they do not go to church and the response has been good. About a third of the sum required had been raised when this page went on-line.
And this is the shape you normally see - or maybe our photographer just can't hold the camers straight. That's the carpet across the bottom RH corner.
If you would like to help please send a donation to Stephen Harwood, Melsonby Clock Appeal, Russet House, Scots Dyke Close, Melsonby, Richmond, North Yorkshire, DL10 5PT
Cheques should be made payable to Melsonby Parish Church and, if you are a UK tax-payer, a Gift Aid declaration would make it even more valuable
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The Clock Returns
 | | On 22 June - a glorious fine day with relatively little wind tucked nicely between two blustery, showery days - the clock face returned to Melsonby. It had been repainted in the same sky blue and the dial and numerals had been applied in gold leaf. It looked stunning as Dave McVicar or Cumbria Clock Company and Graham Frost, a professional abseiler who specialises in this sort of job, displayed it prior to its journey back onto the tower face. |
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Preparing the site
 Before the clock face could be lifted into place Graham had to check the stonework and clean the bolts. The bolts cast in bronze were securely fitted into the stonework and had not been touched since the clock was first installed.
Graham told us that he particularly enjoys work on old churches but he has worked on many interesting projects such as the Millennium Dome, The Eden Project domes in Cornwall and the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. A lot of his work is on oil platforms and similar structures |
The Tools
 | | While Graham got into place by coming down from the top, all the tools he needed had to be sent up from below in a bag raised by means of pulleys. Graham had set up a series of belays attached to the top of the tower and was able to get up and down with relative ease and ensure that he always had the correct tools to hand. |
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Ready to Lift
 Once the stonewok and the bolts had been cleaned of any loose debris and the bolts had been (very)lightly greased, the clock could be manoeuvred into place. Great care had to be taken to ensure that as it lifted it did not bang against the masonry of the tower and get scratched or dented. |
Realigning the Face
 | | Getting the face to slip onto the bolts proved easier said than done. The face bowed slightly and the distance across the face meant that Graham had to work his way around it taking care not to step on it. |
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Disaster Strikes
 | | With three bolts in position, as the face was lined up to get the fourth through its hole, disaster struck and the bolt sheared off almost level with the stone face of the tower. Dave was confident that the three other bolts were sufficient to hold it in place so the nuts were attached and it was left in place while lunch was taken a a solution decided upon. |
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A Different View
| Having the tower open meant that it was possible for us to take the climb up the narrow spiral staircase to the top and get some interesting shots of Graham at work. |  |
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And from inside
 | | And as we came through the belfry he was just nicely positioned for this shot. |
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Views from the top
 It was a beautiful day and we were able to get some great shots from the top of the tower. Stan once mentioned in a sermon that he thought it might be possible to see the sea by Teesmouth from the top of the tower with a pair of good marine binoculars. We were not entirely convinced. The curvature of the earth is probably just sufficient to put it out of view. If the tower were about ten feet higher it could make all the difference. |
More from the top
 | | But for plane spotters it is a great vantage point - as this view of an RAF C130 shows. |
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Above the Village
| The view over the village gave an entirely new perspective on Melsonby. |  |
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Disaster Averted
 During lunch Dave and Graham had worked out that the two parts of the broken bolt could be drilled and reattached with a length of stainless steel rod. The golden sun shaped nuts were fastened in place. Dave had made a special tool so that they could be tightened without damaging the gilding. The ends of the bolts were then covered over with 'stick on' patches of gilding so that there were no unsightly black spots in the middle of the 'suns'
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The Pointers
 | Once the face was in position the spindle could be reinserted and the pointers attached. Stephen Harwood, Melsonby PCC Treasurer showed a keen interest in the pointers and the large gilded nut that holds them in place.
Stephen has been delighted at the response to the appeal for funds to resore the clock.
About £1200 had been donated by the time the clock was returned.
It's not too late still to make a donation to help to pay for this lovely clock to be restored so that it can grace the village for many more years to come.
If you would like to help please send a donation to Stephen Harwood, Melsonby Clock Appeal, Russet House, Scots Dyke Close, Melsonby, Richmond, North Yorkshire, DL10 5PT
Cheques should be made payable to Melsonby Parish Church and, if you are a UK tax-payer, a Gift Aid declaration would make it even more valuable
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Back in Business
 The refurbished works to the clock were installed the following day and it is now good for many years casting its benign eye over the people and village of Melsonby. |
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