Letchworth Town Hall clock back on time after restoration work

Letchworth Town Hall. Picture: Danny Loo (Image: Danny Loo Photography 2017)

North Hertfordshire College – which has leased the grade-II listed building since 2013 as an administration block – made the announcement today, after the clock had been out of kilter since February.

The clock is one of the few remaining electromechanical clocks of its kind, meaning it was a challenge to find a horologist with the required expertise.

Head of facilities Stephen Francis said: “It’s believed that most of these clocks in England have been swapped out for electrical motors – however, as a college, we wanted to keep the historical integrity of the 1930s mechanism.”

The college agreed to keep the old clock system when it took on the former town hall’s lease, in the interest of historical integrity and to preserve Letchworth’s heritage.

Les Kirk Clocks – which also restored the clock in 2014 – created new driving joints, repaired the original bevelled gears and recast the clock hands – which were warped due to the high winds at the top of the tower.

This means the existing components are still the original ones, and the four faces now show the correct time.

The horologist will continue to work with the college’s estates team to help ensure the historic clock receives the proper attention and the people of Letchworth stay on schedule.

Les Kirk said: “The electromechanical clock mechanism is unusual with regards to common electric clock mechanisms found in town halls and other major buildings today.

“Clocks like this one are becoming historically important – but from a maintenance perspective, it’s easier for people to replace old mechanisms with new systems today due to a lack of people who understand them.

“For that reason, I admire the college for doing all they can to preserve the old system.”

Letchworth-based writer Jane Fae, one of those who had raised the issue of the incorrect timekeeping, said: “It’s about time – which as far as I can tell is now once more the same for Letchworth as everywhere else in the country.”