It’s a poor clock that can’t tell the time, writes Kenneth Bird, but all is not lost with the one in the High Street above Herald & Heart. Proprietors Ken White and Tracey Mogard have sent its innards for repair by Eastbourne clock mender Clive Steer, after it fell victim to an electric surge in last autumn’s big storm. It seems only a few years ago that the clock had a major facelift, in fact a brand new face, inscribed “Hatters House” with a gilded casing. “That cost around £8,000,” said White, “but it won’t be so much this time. It’s not very old. It was installed about 30 years ago, when a jeweller owned the shop, so it’s not exactly been long a part of Rye’s heritage.” Nevertheless, it’s a welcome landmark in Rye today and the owners are to be congratulated on the care they are taking of it.
