Crooked Spire’s clock finally set to be fixed

The timepiece on the world-famous church has been stuck at six o’clock for nearly three months because of a mechanical glitch.

This morning, a repairman has abseiled from the landmark twisted spire down to the clock to remove its fingers.

They will be sent to clockmakers Smith of Derby to be mended and cleaned then fitted back on to the 14th century building at the end of the month.

The church has been working with the company and Chesterfield Borough Council to resolve the problem.

Councillor Terry Gilby, the borough council’s deputy leader and executive member for planning, said: “The clock at St Mary and All Saints’ Parish Church stopped working about ten weeks ago.

“We attempted to repair the clock on-site but this was unsuccessful.

“Therefore, we have had to find a specialist contractor to carry out the work.

“The clock will be removed to be repaired and we hope it will be back in place in two weeks’ time,” he added.

Scores of readers have contacted the Derbyshire Times about the broken timepiece.

On Twitter, user @julie_colledge wrote: “It’s doing my head in now. Please fix it.”

A spokesman for the Diocese of Derby said: “The church is grateful for all the interest shown by the community with regards to the clock and look forward to the repairs.”

The Crooked Spire – a Grade I listed building – is the largest church in Derbyshire.

In common folklore, there are a number of stories about why the spire is twisted.

One says that a virgin married in the church and the spire turned around to look at the bride.

Legend also has it that a blacksmith from Bolsover made a poor job of shoeing the Devil who, lashing out in agony as he passed over Chesterfield, gave the spire a violent kick.

In reality, however, it is believed the inclination was caused by unseasoned wood and heavy lead tiles.

For more information about the Crooked Spire, visit www.chesterfieldparishchurch.org.uk