St Peter’s Clock and Tower Repair Appeal

                                                                                                

What are the problems and what do we need to do?

The clock, made by John Moore & Sons of Clerkenwell, London, dated 1864, seen by many on this famous part of the World Heritage site skyline has worn out and stopped, so it needs to be taken apart and the worn parts replaced. An automatic winding system is to be installed as currently, one man pulls the extremely heavy weights up the inside of the tower once a week, a simple mechanism with few changes to the workings of the clock could do this automatically and safely.
 
The tower roof above the clock has developed a leak and is letting rain into the tower and onto the bell-frame. In 1949 the original timber roof was replaced with a concrete one. The reinforced concrete beams are now splitting, debris is falling putting parts of the tower, including the bell-frame, at risk and preventing the bell tower sound dampers from closing, as an increasing amount of water is coming through.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      The flag pole is increasing the problem, as it rocks in the wind, especially when there is a flag up and causes movement in the roof beams.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          To keep the bell-frame and everything inside the tower safe and dry the current tower roof needs to be removed and replaced with a wooden one, as the building was originally designed for. This won’t be easy as it is so far up and nothing must be allowed to fall and damage the working of the bells and will mean installing a temporary floor to carry out the work and scaffolding all the way up to the top of the tower, as the tower stairs are too tight to allow materials to be taken up that way.

                                                                                     What is the cost?                                                                                  The overall cost is around £50,000 for all the work that needs to be done and architect’s oversight fees, in order to restore this         part of the Belper’s skyline.

                                                                                                      How will it be funded?                                                                                 The  church will seek grants and loans to cover some of the cost but we need to offer matched funding, so we need your help.

                                                                                                          How can you help?                                                                                              Please consider what you can give towards repairing this important Grade II listed building of St Peter’s, so we can ring the bells and have time back for the 200th anniversary in 2024. You might be able to offer a one-off donation, or an amount per month to spread the cost. 

Please give with a generous spirit and a warm heart!  

     If you would like to contribute please complete the form on our leaflet, which you can download and print by clicking here. 

                             If you pay tax you can Gift Aid your donation and add 25% without any further cost to yourself.                                                                                                                                                  Please ensure the form is signed.                                                                                                         Donations can also be made via St Peter's Parish Facebook page.

Thank you.

The clock at St Peter's Church has been repaired and work starts on the Tower Roof very soon. That leaves us with four rather scruffy looking clock faces. Will you help us finish the renovations please?!