Sunderland Minster clock ticking again after face was frozen in time

The three-faced clock on Sunderland Minster had been stuck for a few weeks, presenting school pupils with a useful excuse for late arrival. But no more.

Maintenance of the clock is the responsibility of Sunderland City Council. It has taken weeks to get it ticking again as specialist help is needed to repair such an intricate timepiece. It wasn’t just a matter of popping down the shops and buying a new battery.

You can’t tell by looking from the street, but the inside workings of the clock are relatively new. However, they are still 12 years old. The machinery of the present clock was installed in 2011, although the clock faces have not changed. New bells were installed in the clock tower in 2012.

A statement from Sunderland City Council said: “The city council helps oversee structural maintenance at the Grade ll-listed Minster and its churchyard.

“During a routine inspection on Monday, February 27 with the contracted clockmaker, issues were identified with the clock dials and their synching.

“On Wednesday, March 29, an engineer replaced lighting tubes and reaffixed a spindle driving the dials which had worked loose.”

Across High Street West is the Dun Cow pub, which also has a beautiful public clock. It too had not worked for a while before it was finally repaired in 2019; a while in the Dun Cow’s case being over 30 years.

Happily, both clocks are now ticking accurately, although tardy schoolchildren might not share the joy.