Chimes return to 16th Century clock after 100 years

The device was commissioned in 1559 and is one of only a handful of clocks from this era on display in the UK

One of the UK's oldest clocks, which first struck the time in 1559, has been restored to full working order.

The turret clock was installed at The Church of St John the Baptist in Winchester at the start of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and is thought to have been silent for more than a century.

Specialists from the Cumbria Clock Company, who restored the Great Clock in the Elizabeth Tower at the Houses of Parliament, were brought in to bring it back to life and it is now ticking in the nave.

The public are invited to view the clock on two heritage open days being held on 13 and 14 September.

In the 1960s the clock was removed for safe-keeping but thanks to a fundraising effort £8,000 was collected for its restoration.

Hugh Proudman, who was behind the bid to reinstitute the ancient machine, said: "Quite why it was installed is unclear but we know it cost £13. 9s 0d (the equivalent today to £2,751) and that Edward Churcher was paid four shillings to wind it three times a day.

"It is such an early clock that no nuts or bolts were used and the wrought iron frame is held together with wedges."

Due to its fragility it will not be running constantly but a decision has been made to keep the clock in the nave of the church instead of returning it to the tower so that it can be seen by the public.

Keith Scobie-Youngs, a director of the Cumbria Clock Company, who has worked on some of the oldest clocks in the world, was charged with the project.

He said: "We carried out a conservation programme and did as little to it as possible.

"Like smart phones today it went through various upgrades but more than 60% of it is the original 16th Century clock.

"It has a unique system of winding that I have never seen before and I have been making and repairing turret clocks all my life."