Hidden Horsham - Clockhouse Bell Tower

Before	After

This is a curious bell tower or cupola located on the Clockhouse building in Blackhorse Way in Horsham, directly above the Clockhouse Podiatry clinic. The bell is still there with a weather vane on top. The tower is visible from the ground or from the nearby car park. In the spring of 2007 the bell tower underwent extensive maintenance. The bell and tower were removed and comprehensive renovation took place and were replaced on Thursday 15^th March 2007. This feature documents that work and the return of the tower to the roof of the Clockhouse

This cupola was first featured on Hidden Horsham in the spring of 2006 when comments were made about the need for renovation

The clockhouse was originally part of the Manor of Hewells opposite, recently the RSPCA headquarters, now houses and apartments. It was formerly the groom's quarters and coach house for the stable block to the left of the Clockhouse building, now the dentist surgery. Note the two coach entrances now bricked up except for doorways

underside of the tower	The dome during renovation

Hidden Horsham was alerted to the renovation project when scaffolding was erected at the front of the building. Only through the help and support of the Clockhouse Podiatry team, the landlords agent J E Marchington FRICS, the main building contractors Cox and the renovation team at Nigel Carpenter's workshop this story can be told. Links to those can be found below in the external links boxout

A rotting leg	A new leg in close-up

The process of renovating the bell and tower began in January 2007 and was completed by the end of March of the same year. The clock face is the subject of a separate project and no timescale is known for that. There are no plans to make the clock functional again although the mechanism is still situated in the roof space

The bell after lime blasting	The restored weather vane

Prior to the renovation the weight of the tower was reduced by removing the lead roof. It was then lifted down the scaffolding and taken away. The supporting roof structure was repaired in readiness for the return of the cupola and bell. The tower was dismantled in the workshop and had new leadwork installed on the roof and base plate. The new legs were turned to match the originals but the profiling changed to improve the drainage of water; something that was thought to have increased the ageing of the originals. New wooden arches have been fabricated to link the six legs together under the roofline. The leadwork around the base of the legs improved upon the original design and should prevent water ingress. When it was removed the tower had wires to give it support, these can be seen in the photographs in the original article. The new tower is has been built so that these wires are no longer needed; the legs being dowelled into the base rather than nailed to it

The bell, estimated at 200Kg was removed by four men carrying it down the scaffolding. It was removed to Cleaning Consultants where it was restored to its original colour by blasting it with a lime mix. The date and text can now been clearly seen: 1650 ◊ R P P P. There is some speculation as to whether the bell is the original or a copy

The tower and bell were lifted back into place at about 07:45 on the 15^th of March 2007. They were delivered to the layby outside Clockhouse Podiatry on a heavy duty trailer towed by a Transit tipper truck. Soon after 07:15 the crane arrived and was set up for the lift. The tower was secured with strops that were then strapped around the tower to prevent excess movement. The crane then lifted the 900Kg tower over the scaffolding and onto the base. A second lift, secured under the roof section, was required to remove the transit pallet that was under the tower.

The cupola ready to go back up	The lift begins

The bell was returned to the workshop to be transported to Blackhorse way with the tower prior to it being placed back on top of the clockhouse. The bell hangers are clearly broken away and the bell was rehung using two lengths of studding (threaded rod) through existing holes in the bell. These were threaded through a length of air-dried oak from woodland in nearby Capel. The bell was lifted onto the roof using the crane then lifted into position by hand

Almost there...	...and safely delivered

The finishing touches were added in the following week when the lead work was fitted around the base and the woodwork painted. The clockface has been removed for its renovation. The tower should be good for many years to come; the only attention needed is to keep the paintwork in good condition

Hidden Horsham would like to thank all those that helped to create this feature. There are more photographs of the renovation and lift freely available on request via the contact page

Contributions, comments and suggestions are welcomed. Please use the contact page to let us know your thoughts. More information on the images is always welcomed