The British Clockmaker

After my mother's death I inherited a beautiful clock dating back to the 1760's. I like to think that it has been in my family for its entire life but I don't know for sure. I first remember noticing it when my sister and I spent Wednesday afternoons having tea with our grandmother and great aunt back in the forties. The clock sat on a bracket shelf on the wall in the hall and chimed rather grandly on the hour. It sounded and looked like the top section of a grandfather clock in smaller scale with a mahogany case, glass panels on four sides and a domed top with a handle for lifting it into place.

In time the clock moved to my parents and once my mother's estate was settled it was shipped to me in the U.S. It did not travel well arriving with the glass in the front door shattered and unknown damage to the rest of it. For safe keeping, my husband mounted the shelf on the wall and carefully lifted the clock into position by the handle. There was a nasty splintering sound and the cabinet disintegrated into many pieces. My expression of dismay was only surpassed by his. Like the clock, he was shattered. Fortunately it was mostly the joints that had come unglued and the workings were still intact

Many of you will know that I am married to one of the finest woodworkers you will ever meet but not necessarily the speediest. His intentions to repair the damage were well meaning but with his busy schedule the clock kept slipping down the list. Now, more than two years later the cabinet has finally been restored to its former glory, much improved from it's 20th century condition. It looks truly splendid.

Thinking that, once again, the chime of the family heirloom would be heard imagine my disappointment on finding out that the pendulum had been dislodged in the repair process and things were definitely amiss. My poor husband was mortified and even before sharing the bad news with me made a phone call to the British clockmaker in Newfane, VT. For years we have heard his name as a sponsor of Vermont Public Radio and now it was time to pay him a visit.

Earlier this week we loaded the clock and the two dogs into the car and set off for southern Vermont. Ray Bates, the British Clockmaker is a refined gentleman from Scotland who knows everything there is to know about the inside of a clock, especially English ones. He works out of his home with his son, and a backlog of 6 months of repairs. On first glance he determined that severe damage had not occurred, surprising to him since we were so ignorant on the workings of such a valuable clock. He noted that cleaning and general care had been lacking for many years and so, much chagrined, we agreed to a full overhaul. This does not come inexpensively!

The bracket shelf will sit empty for an additional few months it seems, and then we will make another pilgrimage to Newfane. Our pockets will be emptied but we will return home, triumphant, with a clock that should be good for another couple of centuries.