The following extract from the Pett & Pett Level News, sent by its editor to Rye News may strike a chord with some of our readers bearing in mind the problems with our own clock at St Mary’s
Dear Editor
As many will remember the church clock used to be manually wound. Then, in 2010, as a result of a very generous donation by Pam Dunlop for that purpose, it was converted to an auto-winding system which means that the clock time depends on a signal from Rugby. The Friends of Pett Church and the Parochial Church Council had no reason to doubt that it would from then on work efficiently.
This has not been the case. The clock has shown the correct time over a period of weeks or months and then, for no apparent reason, it stops or goes slow or goes fast. Over the years the Parochial Church Council has insisted on very many occasions that the company who installed the system come to repair it. Each visit apart from the first has been paid for. Sometimes payment has been delayed until the clock has been seen to be working over a period of time.
Why has the electronic mechanism not been working consistently? At one time the clock company suggested that the tower was too damp. Work was carried out but still the clock time remained sporadic. The other possibility is that the Rugby signal is not powerful enough. What the PCC is going to do now is to consult a different clock company to see whether a solution can be found and to see whether we can reclaim money from the first company. We will keep you informed in this magazine.
Please be assured that the Friends of Pett Church and the Church Council share the villagers’ concerns about the clock. They have done their best and will continue to do so.
Pett Church is the centre of our village and provides not only a place of worship but also a peaceful place in this busy world. Its existence relies on the generosity and goodwill of the people who live in Pett and Pett Level as well as of the congregation.
Gill Plank on behalf of the PCC