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The modernisation of the church clock
Upchurch Parish Council, who look after the church clock, (which is a war memorial) on behalf of the residents of the Parish used Parish funds to upgrade and modernise the clock and winding mechanisms in the tower of Saint Mary the Virgin, Upchurch, to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War and as a lasting act of remembrance in helping preserve our War Memorial for future generations of villagers and visitors to enjoy.
Local residents and visitors to the village expressed their desire to make a donation towards the cost of the restoration as a way of saying 'thank you' to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Councillors have been overwhelmed by the response from the community to their invitation to ‘buy time’ on the clock face, the target was to raise an hour, or put another way 3600 seconds, to say thank you! This echoes the response from villagers 100 years ago.
Update
The church clock is working really well and keeping excellent time. The clock mechanism has had a service since the winding mechanisms were updated and the drive shafts that link the clock to the 3 faces have all been adjusted and checked for wear and tear.
The clock successfully made the adjustment from British Summer Time to Greenwich Mean Time (back an hour) automatically at the end of October, and the Parish Council is looking forward to it making the adjustment the other way in March, which involves the clock stopping for 23 hours and then restarting automatically at the correct time, quite a feat of engineering! In the meantime, councillors Alan Horton and Peter Masson continue to monitor the clock and are always willing to answer questions.
New memorial plaque
The Parish Council is in the process of preparing an application to seek a faculty through the Diocese of Canterbury's senior legal officer, the Commissary General, who will then consider the request for a new memorial plaque on the left hand side of the church door, to mirror the original on the right hand side, the plaque will be as close as possible in design, size and material to the original and will in as close a message as possible detail the centenary contributions from the community toward the winding mechanism, in the same manner as the original contributions bought the clock and chimes.
44 minutes sold - £6255.63 donated
Your donations:
£60.00 - Beckenham Park Residents Association
£500.00 - Upchurch Handbell Ringers
£1100.00 - Upchurch Village Fete Committee
£150.00 - Upchurch Horticultural Society
£75.00 - Parish Council Stall at Upchurch Village Fete
£100.00 - Upchurch Wives group
£750.00 - Swale Borough Council
£125.11 - Holywell School, Oak and Cambria Classes
£322.02 - 1st Upchurch Brownies and Guides
£1133.00 - JustGiving Page
£564.00 - Upchurch WI
£100.00 - Upchurch Cricket Club
£500.00 - Friends of St. Mary's
£776.50 - Individual residents donations
£6255.63 - Total
Upchurch Parish Council would like to thank everybody who has donated, your generosity has been overwhelming.
Thanks also to Upchurch Matters.
Tyrone Ripley
