After 18 months of not working, the clock on St Mary’s church tower in Swanage, Dorset, has been mended following a major restoration.
The clock, which was made in 1860 by the famous clockmaker Frederick Dent of the Strand, started to chime erratically and lose time in summer 2024, as the hands on the clock’s south dial were not going round properly.
Paul Kilburn from Smith of Derby replaces the hands on the south dial
Restored and cleaned
In August 2024, the antique hands were removed from the south dial, leaving just the west facing dial working. They were then sent away to the clockmaker Smith of Derby, where they were carefully restored and cleaned.
Meanwhile St Mary’s church was looking at how the cost of the restoration could be funded and started to fundraise and apply for grants.
Fortunately, the church was successful in receiving a Church of England Conservation Grant, which was provided with financial support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Pilgrim Trust and The Radcliffe Trust.
A cherry picker was used to safely reach the top of the church’s tower with the two clock dials
“It’s a real historic piece”
On Tuesday 25th November 2025, clockmaker Paul Kilburn from Smith of Derby returned to Swanage to put the hands back on the clock’s south dial and reset it to the right time.
Paul, who travels round the country fixing clocks but lives in Blandford in Dorset, said:
“I am so glad that the church clock is now properly working and the hands are back in place. People kept on asking me when I was going to fix the clock, as I think they really missed seeing it working.
“This is the first time that the clock has been repaired to this extent since it was made 165 years ago in 1860. It’s a real historic piece having been built by Dent, who also constructed the clock for the tower which houses Big Ben in Westminster.”
Inside the tower and the back of one of the dials
The clock built by Dent, has a two train movement – a ‘going’ and a ‘striking’
Clock cost £156 in 1860
When St Mary’s church underwent a major rebuild in 1859, the clock was installed as part of the project, replacing an earlier version made in 1720 by clockmaker Issac Cloud of Beaminster.
Records show that the old clock wasn’t very efficient, so an order was placed for a new one with the firm of Frederick Dent of the Strand in London and it was installed with two dials in July 1860.
It cost £156, with £70 raised through subscriptions from local residents and the remaining balance of £86 donated by a barrister David Jardine.
Originally the clock was wound twice a week by hand but in 2006 it was converted to automated electric winding. At the same time, the two dials were painted black, replacing the original blue, and the hands and roman numerals were re-gilded.
The clock chimes on the hour, 24 hours a day.
The shafts which attach the hands on the dial to the clock mechanism inside the tower, are about 5 feet long to enable them to pass through the thick stone walls
Look no hands!
“Good to have it back”
Rector of St Mary’s church Ian Bird said:
“I am very relieved that the clock has been fixed and the hands are back on the south facing dial before Christmas.
“For about 18 months it hasn’t been working, so it is good to have it back, telling the right time. There’s not many public clocks in Swanage – it’s only one of four – and residents who live nearby have missed being able to see it to check the time.
“We’re very grateful to everyone who contributed to make it possible to restore the clock and we would like to especially thank those who generously awarded us the Church of England Conservation Grant.”
Giving it a hand!
Further information
- View the new website for St Mary’s church and the Swanage and Studland team ministry
- More about clockmakers Smith of Derby
Picture postcard St Mary’s Church by the millpond in Swanage
