Man Spends 140 Hours Bringing a Historic School Clock Back to Life

A historic clock that had been silent for decades is ringing again after a school caretaker spent around 140 hours restoring it in his spare time.

Matthew Buller, 32, became the caretaker at Ripon Grammar School in North Yorkshire last October. Soon after arriving, he became fascinated by the school’s 19th-century clock tower.

A Forgotten Clock

The clock tower dates back to 1889, but its mechanism had not been working properly for many years.

Buller had no previous experience repairing historic clocks. Nevertheless, he decided to learn how the mechanism worked and began restoring it during weekends and school holidays.

He gradually repaired and adjusted the complicated mechanism, dedicating approximately 140 hours to the project.

The Bells Ring Again

After months of work, the historic clock finally began working again and its bells could once again be heard around the school.

For Buller, hearing the clock operate was the most rewarding part of the project.

He said he had become fascinated by the clock tower and wanted to bring the old mechanism back to life so that other people could enjoy it too.

Learning Along the Way

The restoration required Buller to learn about a piece of machinery that was completely outside his previous experience.

Rather than treating the clock as an old piece of equipment that no longer worked, he spent his spare time understanding its mechanism and carefully bringing it back into operation.

The project also helped preserve a small but important part of the school’s history.

A Sound From the Past Returns

More than a century after the clock tower was built, its bells are once again marking the passing of time.

What began as one caretaker’s curiosity eventually became a 140-hour restoration project — giving pupils, staff and the local community the chance to hear a piece of the school’s history once again.

Sources

• BBC News — “Caretaker restores school’s historic clock”
• BBC Yorkshire — “Stories to make you smile from across Yorkshire”