Engineers called out to fix Rochdale Town Hall Clock

Rochdale Town Hall clock

Engineers were called out to the Rochdale Town Hall Clock on Wednesday (10 January).

Recently, the 131-year old clock has been chiming the wrong hour.

This should no longer be an issue from 12.30pm, as the clock is now chiming correctly after engineers visited.

Mayor Ian Duckworth and Council Leader Allen Brett recently backed Jake Berry, the Northern Powerhouse minister, who has urged the BBC and ITV to broadcast the chimes from the clock above Rochdale Town Hall until Big Ben is back in full working order. 

The original tower, built in five stages, was 240 feet high topped with a statue of St George and the Dragon. The clock was enclosed in a cast-iron framework, and the bells were hung in the lower stages of the spire. There were twelve bells which were equipped with a carillon of fourteen tunes, and chimed every hour and every quarter hour, as at Westminster.

The carillon was never restored, nor anything placed upon the summit of the spire. The cause of the fire was never fully established but it caused such damage that the new tower had to be erected fifteen yards further to the east.