Castle Rushen Restored 16th Century clock reinstalled

The Castle Rushen clock was raised back into position by an abseiling team

A clock on the Isle of Man, which is believed to date back to the 16th Century, has been reinstalled after a four-year restoration project.

The Castle Rushen time piece had been in continual use in Castletown for more than 400 years until it was removed for repairs in 2011.

It was raised back into position by an abseiling team working with Manx National Heritage (MNH).

An MNH spokesman said the restoration project cost about £5,000.

Restorers identified several clock parts which could be replaced by modern cast iron leaf

He said many of the parts had been replaced.

"In a turret clock such as this, the movement of the big wheels is transferred one to another by little ones called pinions.

"These pinions take a lot of the stress during the operation of the clock and tend to wear out.

"We replaced all six pinions with superior, bespoke cast iron leaf more in keeping with the age of the clock."

A team of experts designed a series of restoration projects for the clock while it was in the workshop