Church's 100-year-old clock set for long-overdue restoration

St Paul's Church in Gornal has announced that a grant of £34,000 from Enovert Community Trust has allowed work to start on fixing the 100-year-old clock tower and getting the clock back in service.

Scaffolding went up around the tower at the start of June ahead, with church leader Pastor David Bell saying it was good to finally get the work under way after seeing the condition it was in.

He said: "The scaffolding went up at the start of the month and we've spent some time surveying the site and getting it all verified and, thankfully, we're doing the work as it's in a slightly worse condition than we had hoped.

"However, while the costs have gone up, we are feeling a lot more positive about being able to bring this amenity back to the community as it has been out of action for four years, so it'll be good to give the community its clock back."

Pastor Bell said the full cost of restoring the clock and clock tower would be between £40,000 and £45,000, due to rising costs due to the poor condition of the building.

He said that the funding from the Enovert Community Trust, an environmental body supporting community and environmental projects, was very generous and said the community response to the work had been very positive.

He said: "The Enovert Community Trust have given very generously to the work with the grant that they have given and we really can't thank them enough for everything that they've given us.

"We've had lots of people asking us when we're going to get the clock working and what can be done to get it working, as it had stopped working and was confusing people by giving the wrong time.

"By doing the work to get it back working again, we will not only serve our community as a church, but we'll be able to serve it any way we can and restore something that has been here for 100 years."

Pastor Bell said the plan was to have the work completed by the middle of August and hold a reopening ceremony as part of celebrations for the church's centenary in September,

He also said that the rest of the funding for the work would come from church funds and donations, as well as saying that the church was looking to do some fundraising.

He said: "We can fund it, but we're looking at doing some fundraising for it as well as we're needing to spend some extra on it.

"The best ways to get in touch are through our social media, but emailing the church, or even by just popping down and meeting us at one of our groups, or the food bank on a Thursday or Toddlers group on a Wednesday.

"We're a friendly bunch, so come by, have a chat and found out more about it."

To find out more, go to stpaulsgornal.co.uk.