Sunday Picture Quiz Answers: June 22Landmark Ripon clock finally repaired after months of standstillThe Victoria Clock Tower in Ripon is now correct more than twice a day, having finally been repaired by North Yorkshire Council.
The landmark clock at the junction of North Street, Palace Road and Princess Road has been plagued by problems in recent years, sometimes running too fast, sometimes too slow, and most recently not at all.
While most people passed by without giving it a second thought, for others it was a source of concern.
Local resident Bernard White reported the problem to North Yorkshire Council in August, and followed it up at the beginning of November. He told the Stray Ferret:
“The clock’s been out of commission as much as it’s been in commission for the last three or four years. This time, it had been broken for about four or five months.
“I wrote to the council to ask for an update and they told me it was a faulty pendulum. They came this week and repaired it and it seems to be working fine now.”
The Victoria Clock Tower was commissioned to mark Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897 and in the following June it was officially unveiled to a huge crowd at a civic ceremony. The Grade II listed building passed into council ownership in 1974.
Mr White added:
“The clock’s a feature in itself – the only other clock I know of in Ripon is at the town hall. It was built as a clock, and it should go as a clock, so it’s wonderful to have it back in working order.”
As we reported earlier in the year, the clock was due to be repaired in in March. It is unclear whether it was but had since developed another fault, or whether it never was fixed, perhaps due to the handover of responsibility for its running from Harrogate Borough Council to North Yorkshire Council on April 1.
The Stray Ferret has contacted North Yorkshire Council for comment.
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Historic Ripon clock to undergo specialist repair
Almost 125 years after being unveiled, it’s time for specialist repair work on Ripon’s most prominent and, of late, least reliable civic clock.
The hands on the four-faced timepiece housed in the ornate Victoria Clock Tower at the busy junction of North Road, Palace Road and Princess Road, have stood still on either 12 noon or 12 midnight for many weeks.
But Ripon city councillor and former mayor Eamon Parkin has good news.
He told the Stray Ferret:
“The pendulum of the clock will be undergoing specialist repair and we hope to have it back working again as soon as possible.”
The clock tower was commissioned to mark Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897 and in the following June, the classically styled stone tower — paid for by sisters Frances and Constance Cross of Coney Garth — was gifted by them to the city of Ripon in a ceremonial civic opening event attended by a huge crowd.
The grade II listed building passed into the ownership of Harrogate Borough Council with the reorganisation of local government in 1974, but will change hands once more when the new North Yorkshire unitary authority comes into being on April 1.
In recent years the clock has required attention because of its erratic performance, which at times have seen it running fast or slow on numerous occasions.
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