After many years, consideration is to be given to restoring the clock on the Landgate and, once more having it as a working time piece.
Rye News has received the following letter from the Mayor of Rye:
Image Credits: Rye News library .
After many years, consideration is to be given to restoring the clock on the Landgate and, once more having it as a working time piece.
Rye News has received the following letter from the Mayor of Rye:
Image Credits: Rye News library .
Like rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic!
This is not an insignificant sum of money and surely any/all available public funds should be put towards the immediate conservation and preservation of the actual Landgate itself, which is still in a woeful state? Without that, there is nothing on which a clock could sit, functional or not.
In my view, pledge funding of £25k (assuming that’s thought to be available for a clock) from the Town Council to launch a capital fundraising campaign for the longterm preservation/conservation of the Landgate would be a much more purposeful catalyst to increasing awareness of its plight … and raise the necessary public engagement for fundraising for the entire structure – clock included.
Whilst partly agreeing with Michael Jones, please see my comment on the money raised from the sculpture sale. This sum must not be frittered away, and to me a fund to help provide income for the Heritage Centre comes first. Without support for our visitors, Rye will slowly decline as a destination. RDC has to fund the Landgate, and also make the contractor who did the work last year, make good their poor workmanship in not ensuring the shrubs and other plants did not grow back again.
How one must agree with Allan Downend, Rother district council took full responsibility for the Landgate Tower many years ago, and it is not up to Rye town council, or the residents of Rye, to pick up the tab,as they were the ones that allowed the Landgate to fall into years of neglect, and this lasting damage,is the failure of councillors on Rother district Council, who’s only priority has been Bexhill.
The days have long gone when a town needed a clock for the general public to be able to tell what time of day or night it is.
Maybe the funds would be better spent on giving each resident a watch each.
It works out that £25.000 divided by the population of rye equates to £5.00 per person
This will then save people having to walk to the land gate to tell what time it is.
I find it rather odd that anyone would have so little pride in their town that they would not wish to see a working public clock, especially one that forms part of a prominent and popular historic building. If we don’t think it serves any useful purpose as a functioning timepiece then I suggest the hands be removed. This would avoid misleading anyone who seeks to use it for its intended purpose, especially the many visitors to the town who regard it as one of the ‘sights’.
Personally I would like to see the old ticker working again, there has to be a more cost effective time piece that can be used than modifying the existing aging one, the money once funded could be used to repair and maintain the Arch using local skilled and qualified men and not see the money wasted as before using the last tribe of jokers that were employed by those that haven’t a clue.
Over 10 years ago i wanted to maintain the Spirit of Rye Wall, there was all sorts of bureaucracy and bull regarding ownership and insurance, I was willing to maintain it at no cost to anyone, 10 years on nothing has been done, funny that !! a monument at a predominant point in Rye needs some looking after, as do all things local and Rye, the gateway to Rye on three sides if not four is a shambles and run down mess. We are now a Tourist Town and first impressions count.