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Serving the communities of Bures St Mary and Bures Hamlet
 

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Suffolk Churches


St Mary`s Church Clock Tower

First Clock Installed in 1875

If you notice the clock at St Mary’s Church looking a little “timeless” this spring, don’t be alarmed said the Vicar.
Our iconic tower clock is about to undergo its most significant restoration in a generation, returning its four faces to their original 1920s glory.
If you have ever looked up to check the time while waiting for your bus, or listened for the chime to say ‘it’s time for tea’, then you know how important the St Mary’s tower clock is for our community.
The people of your church are committed to this community so we are keen to keep our clock serving the village for years to come..

On the 17th and 18th of February, a specialist team arrived to stop the mechanism and remove the four 6ft copper dials and their hands.
These will be transported to a specialist workshop in East Sussex for a complete refurbishment.
The clock faces have not had a clean-up in more than 100 years.

"They will strip back the clock-face to the bare copper, then re-install with 24-carat gold leaf on the numerals and new paint," said Reverend Daniel Whiffin.

"We hope they will be back in about five weeks' time towards the end of March, ready for Easter."

The removal of three of the clock faces from the top of the church's tower took all day on Tuesday, while the final one was "carefully" taken down on Wednesday.

 

The restoration is being carried out by Gillett & Johnston, the very same firm that manufactured and installed the clock back in 1923.

Founded in 1844, they are world-renowned horologists who have looked after the clocks of St Paul’s Cathedral and the Royal Exchange.

Having the original makers return to work installed by their own family a century later, is a rare and wonderful piece of continuity for Bures.

The five-week refurbishment of the clock includes:

Deep Cleaning: Removing decades of Suffolk weather and old, flaking lead paint.

24-Carat Gilding: The Roman numerals, minute marks, and hands will be painstakingly re-gilded using double-thickness English gold leaf.

Mechanical Overhaul: While the faces are away, the “motion works” of the clock faces will be stripped and serviced to ensure another century of accuracy

 
Clock restored ready for Easter 2026
 

Extracted from St Marys Church News
12/2/2026

Restoration Images.
Photographers Ann Wallis, Andrea Carter and Shirley Keeble-Fox
28/03/2026
15/05/2026