Plea to turn down volume of Swaffham town clock falls on deaf ears

Martin George Friday, October 12, 2012
12:54 PM

The recently restored Swaffham town clock will continue to chime through the night after councillors dismissed a complaint from a resident who moved into a nearby house.

The woman asked the town council to reduce the chimes of the clock, which is in the tower of St Peter and St Paul Church in the town centre, after 11.30pm or to turn the volume down.

However, councillors meeting on Wednesday October 10 gave the request short shrift.

Sheila Lister said: “I’m sorry, but the clock has been there how many years? If you buy a home next to a church that has a clock, you expect it to chime.”

David Wickerson, who also spoke against making any changes, said: “It’s like the cock crowing in the morning in the countryside.”

Councillors unanimously agreed not to take any action.

The clock had fallen silent in April after an annual service resulted in it needing a spare part, but councillors agreed to fund the £200 repair bill in June.

Local resident Mary Blackmore later donated £200 in memory of her 102-year-old mother Mary Latham who liked looking at the clock from her bedroom window.