Machynlleth’s town clock dominates the skyline of the small mid-Wales town
By Craig Duggan and Peter Shuttleworth
BBC news
It’s the town where the time is always one minute past nine – well, that’s if you rely on its old clock.
And because the clock has been broken for three years, the only chime you’ll get from Machynlleth in mid Wales is on social media.
Maybe TikTok would have been a more apt platform, but Twitter is where you will hear the hourly bell of Wales’ ancient capital.
“As the clock’s stopped, people here don’t grow old,” joked one passer-by.
“This is where time stands still – we all stay younger.”
While London’s Big Ben has had an £80m refurbishment, the 78ft (23.7m) tall Victorian clock in the seat of Wales’ first parliament has not chimed since October 2020.
Image source, Anadolu Agency
Big Ben is finally ringing again in the UK’s capital following a refurbishment
So one elusive and cheeky resident has created a parody Twitter account for the Machynlleth town clock – which “bongs” every hour.
“The fact that someone has taken the time and effort to create a Twitter account and bong on every hour for such a long time, shows the passion people have for fixing our beloved clock,” said town mayor Jeremy Paige.
“No-one seems to know who runs the account but whoever it is, is doing so with a glint in their eye and a burning passion to see the real clock actually chime again. I love it, it’s such a charming idea.”
Mr Paige said fixing the clock and actually hearing it again was “the single biggest issue people talk to me about when I’m walking around town – and it’s on a daily basis!”
Residents in the Powys town want their Grade II listed timepiece to be right more than twice a day, preferably in time for its 150th anniversary celebrations in July 2024.
So the clock, metaphorically, is ticking.
The landmark in the middle of the Powys town was paid for by residents in the 19th Century, to celebrate the 21st birthday of the Fifth Marquess of Londonderry’s eldest son, who lived nearby.
A plaque on the clock says it was erected in 1873 – but it was actually finished in 1874 because of a family bereavement
Bangor architect Henry Kennedy won a competition to design the clock tower and it was constructed by local builder Edward Edwards, mostly using stone from north-west Wales.
It first broke in 1881 after a storm shattered two of the clock’s faces and locals again dipped into their pockets to pay for repairs.
A nine-year fundraiser helped pay £200,000 to fix the clock again in 2012, but now time stands still in Machynlleth once more. The broken timepiece has been the talk of the town for almost three years.
Some locals say they have given up looking at Machynlleth’s clock if they want to know the time
“It’s by the bus stop so nobody knows if it’s the right time when they look at the timetable because they can’t compare it,” one local told the BBC.
“So all the buses show up a nine o’clock – so sometimes it’s right, which is quite funny!”
While another passer-by pointed out: “It is a sad thing because it makes the town feel that there’s not enough investment in it.”
Machynlleth’s townspeople raised £1,000 to build the clock in the 1870s – but the structure itself cost £800
The rest of the £200 raised by public subscription for the clock was spent on trees which line the adjoining streets
A £55,000 bill to repair and refurbish the clock has been signed off by the local community council, meaning the eight-week refurbishment can happen over the summer.
The bill will account for more than 5% of the town council’s annual budget, with the other half of the funds coming from Welsh historic buildings body Cadw.
“It’s a bit of a totem of the town because if the clock is not healthy, it asks a question of the town,” said Mr Paige.
Work has begun to fix the Machynlleth clock so people will be able to hear the chimes in the autumn
“The clock is held in great affection and is meaningful to the town because it was paid by townsfolk and built by townsfolk.
“It’s iconic to us and as there’s only 2,000 people in the town, we’re basically a T-junction and the clock is at the cross-section of that – you can’t get through town without seeing it.
“The clock being fixed is important to the health of our town.”
