The tower clock of St Andrew’s church, Yetminster, is one-of-kind,
but is desperately in need of expensive renovations.

The sound of the National Anthem ringing out across Yetminster used to be a regular occurrence. Now, sadly, the bells are quiet and the tower clock and carillon need more than £30,000 of restoration work.
Commissioned in 1682 by churchwardens Benjamin Coome, Thomas Stone and William Bisshop, the clock was made by Thomas Bartholomew, a blacksmith and clockmaker in Sherborne. He actually altered the mechanism of a much older church clock to what was then cutting-edge pendulum technology. The clock has no face but chimes the hours on a bell cast in 1400, which would have been the same bell calling people to church and regulating the working hours for the men in the fields in the 15th century.
The carillon was added in 1897 to mark Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee and was paid for by a generous village resident. It plays the National Anthem every three hours day and night. To celebrate the Platinum Jubilee, this year the carillon was operated to ring out manually as part of Yetminster’s Jubilee celebrations.
In this Jubilee Year, the Friends of St Andrew’s are fundraising to help restore this rare and historic tower clock. Churchwarden Geoffrey Goater explains: “For us in Yetminster, the clock is a much-loved and familiar part of our lives, and the sound of the bells ringing out over our houses and the fields beyond has been greatly missed since it fell silent a year ago.”

Urgent fundraising
St Andrew’s Church Council now faces a restoration estimate of over £30,000 to replace the worn parts and improve the winding systems. “This will be a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the whole village to get our clock working again, so that it will chime out for our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren too,” says Geoffrey.
The Friends are asking the community for help to raise funds via local events and a crowdfunding page (www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/yetminster-clock).
They are already over halfway to their target, and are grateful to all those who have given so far including: the Erskine Muton Trust, the Benefact Trust, the Lockie Trust, the Church Buildings Council, the Yetminster Fair Committee, St Andrew’s Church Council (PCC) and the Yetminster Parish Council.