An appeal has been launched to raise £15,000 to repair the clock face on the church of St Mary’s-in-Thanet at Minster,
The church is believed to date from Saxon times and plays an important part in the life of Minster village and the surrounding area. It is a Grade 1 listed building and sits next to St. Mildred’s Priory which was established following the landing of St. Augustine at Ebbsfleet nearby in 670AD.
In the 1860s the church underwent a major renovation including the clock and its face. There is a date of 1870 on the current clock face. The clock mechanism was overhauled in the 1920s and Minster Parish Council recently agreed to take over the maintenance from Thanet council following withdrawal of support. The ravages of time have had a serious effect on the clock face and it is now in dire need of restoration.
Without this restoration the village is likely to lose the clock forever.
The church clock face was present in 1790 as JMW Turner painted it when he was a 14-year-old prior to entering the Royal Academy of Art.
The restoration of the clock face is a very specialised expensive process and involves skilful work in its removal and replacement.
A small group of villagers – John Quittenden, Derek Crow-Brown, Alan Gimes and Sue Hergest – have come together in an effort to raise the £15000 so the clock face can be restored to its former glory at the heart of the village.
A JustGiving page has been created at:
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/minster-clock-face-restoration
Alternatively, donations can be made to following Post Office Account specifically for the purpose:
Account holder John Quittenden, Account no. 60821708, Sort Code 90-78-68
A Facebook page has also been created and will be part of the official launch of the project on July 10. This will explain the history of the clock, outline the progress of the appeal and then the process of restoration.
The appeal launch will be at 11am in the church grounds with hopefully some village entertainment and will tie in with Minster’s Open Gardens Event.
The team also hope to stage some fundraising events and create a pictorial display in the village of the progress towards the total.
