In August & September, anyone walking down Church Street in Dereham may have noticed that the hands were missing from the town clock. Particularly upsetting if you wanted to know the time.The clock face and hands are in the process of being refurbished by Smiths of Derby, with the hands and numerals being regilded. Smiths service the clock annually to ensure that it runs to time but it has been a while since the dial had a facelift. The clock dial is 12 feet in diameter, although it seems smaller from the street. The picture below gives an indication of the scale, with the minute hand being taller than John who is holding the clock hands.
The clock is wound each week by using a large winding handle to lift a concrete weight from the bottom to the top of the tower. During the week as the clock runs down the weight slowly descends to the bottom of the tower. It takes 54 turns (and a lot of effort) to wind the clock. The clock mechanism was made in 1902 by Whitchurch and was originally installed at West Tofts.Work has presently ceased due to an infestation of bees around the South side of the clock face. A contractor has now removed the bees at a considerable cost and Smiths of Derby should recommence the regilding work in early October.
