Truro clock tower restoration is completed

Scaffolding has been removed from Truro's clock tower

The restoration of a city centre clock tower in Cornwall has been completed.

The tower in Truro needed to be dismantled and reconstructed due to being in poor condition.

The scaffolding has been removed and the refurbished bells are in position and ready to ring out again over the city, workers said.

Work started on the restoration in August 2022.

The new bells have been installed in the tower

 The building and the clock tower were badly damaged by fire in 1914.

This left only the side of the tower that faces Boscawen Street remaining in its original granite form. 

The three lost sides have been reconstructed using reinforced concrete and grit blasted to give the appearance, from street level, of granite. 

Repairs have also been carried out on steelwork within the tower which became badly corroded over more than a century.

Officials consulted with Historic England and employed specialists Fox Construction Solutions to carry out the work.

The project was jointly funded by Cornwall Council and Truro City Council.

Historic England was consulted about the work

The work also received a £10,000 donation from town crier Lionel Knight and his wife Carole.

David Harris, portfolio holder for resources at Cornwall Council, said: “The reinstallation of the refurbished bells and the completed restoration of the clock tower, clock mechanism and faces means that this landmark building is ready to last another 100 years and more.”

Truro Mayor Carol Swain said: “The Municipal Building and clock tower is an iconic feature of Truro’s rich heritage, as well as being the home of Truro City Council, so, to see the tower brought back to its former glory to be enjoyed by future generations, is wonderful.”