Time for change in Waterlooville
After 2 years of campaigning by the Waterlooville District Residents Association, a long-awaited and difficult restoration programme of the well-known four-dialled clock tower at the Clock House apartment complex has at last been completed by Hampshire-based clock specialists, Good Directions. "We are delighted at last to have a working clock in our community," enthuses Sally Beard, Secretary of the Waterlooville Residents Association. "This public time-piece has not worked in Waterlooville for over a decade; giving a poor impression of the organisational abilities of our town. We are glad that our campaigning has finally paid off." The Clock House apartment complex comprises 30 private residential apartments, and its design and very name is derived from a central architectural feature of a working clock tower. However years of occasional vandalism, interruptions to power supply and environmental damage has lead to time standing still and the loss of working hands on more than one of the dials. Robin Davies, Managing Director of Good Directions, the specialist clock-makers who were awarded the contract to overhaul the tower says, "This project was full of detail which is where I believe our attentive project planning was superior to our competition. Indeed one of our employees had worked on this very same clock when it was first manufactured 30 years ago." One particularly passionate supporter of the campaign to reinstate an operating clock was Waterlooville resident and noted horologist, John Bartlam, who sadly passed away shortly before the clock was re-started. Sally Beard had been his secretary for over 10 years, "The world of horology has lost a great expert in John. The residents wish to thank his memory after his years of support and determination manifested in constant petitioning to authority bodies". Les Kirk, who was involved in the initial examination and appraisal of the mechanism, confirmed the dedicated approach and tenacity of John in wanting to see the project through. "He was totally committed, even from our first conversation it was clear he would not rest until the clock was up and running again. I know it gave him great satisfaction when I called him to say we had been given the go ahead to start work. He made me keep him up to date with progress reports and was always inquisitive as to how well each stage had gone. I him was truly stunned when I heard the news as I was so looking forward to showing him the completed work. " The Good Directions team and Simon Finegold, proprietor of the Clock House complex, spent considerable time planning the operation to remove the existing mechanism and then to restore, replace and reinstate the clock. The work had to be carried out in three distinct stages and it was a priority at all times not to cause disruption to the residents or general public. Two of the dials were dismantled and removed via roof-top access, whilst a crane and hoist was needed to access the other two dials from street-level. After 3 months of planning, dismantling, restoration, manufacture of specialist replacement pieces and cleaning, the Clock Tower was reassembled in all its former glory and set going on 16th January 2002. This is the first major work carried out on the clock for 30 years and the tower now also benefits from an upgraded driving mechanism, new electronic back-up system with automated hour changing systems and internal lighting so that the clock can still be seen as a major landmark feature during darkness.