By community reporter
It’s been a few years since the landmark clock at Pudsey Parish Church last told the time.
The clock stopped when the mechanism developed a fault, and then the church was forced to take one of the clock faces down due to concerns about the safety of the masonry supporting it.
The church has now launched a public appeal to raise money to fix these problems and bring the clock back into service.
Chris Dunford-Kelk, the acting chair of the church’s Parochial Council, said: “We often hear people saying what a shame it is that the clock doesn’t work any more.
“Unfortunately, it will take a lot of work to make the tower safe, put the clock face back up and then get the clock working again. This will cost around £150,000.
“The church clock is a Pudsey landmark and the only public clock in the town, so we hope that the people of Pudsey will help us raise the money to get it repaired. £150,000 is a lot of money, but it could easily be raised if every person in Pudsey contributed just £5 each.”
Pudsey Parish Church was opened in 1824, so this year marks its Bicentenary.
The church is organising a number of events across the year to celebrate, and the temporarily removed clock face will provide people with a unique opportunity.
Mr Dunford-Kelk added: “The church’s actual 200th birthday is on August 30 and we’ll be opening the church up and giving people the chance to see things they wouldn’t normally be able to do, including the chance to see the clock face up close and have a selfie taken next to it. We’ve got lots of details of our bicentenary celebration weekend that we can’t wait to share with everyone.”
You can donate to the church’s clock appeal online here, contact the church on 0113 257 7843 or e-mail office@pudseyparish.org.uk.
The next Bicentenary event at the church, this Friday evening, is a concert from popular local funk band The Boogiemen.
Tickets are only £5 and can be bought here. Other upcoming bicentenary events include a variety of concerts, a peal of the church’s bells, a talk from Leeds Rhinos legend Jamie Jones-Buchanan and a Christmas Carol service with a very special guest.
The church hosted one of its popular family fun days over Easter and will have similar events through the year. A list of currently scheduled events can be found here.
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Perhaps they could use the income from all the mobile phone equipment on the church.
The antenna have to go somewhere, or you would not be able to watch your Tik-Tok videos!