Shropshire clockmaker's iconic building put up for sale

Smith of Derby is putting its historic JB Joyce building, in Station Road, Whitchurch, up for sale with a price tag of £235,000.

The firm says that with many operations now centralised in Derby, the JB Joyce and Co site in Whitchurch is unused.

The building is believed to be the only one in the world designed specifically for making turret clocks.

Dr Joe Smith, Smith of Derby director, said that the company remained committed to finding a buyer with an interest in the extraordinary heritage of the site.

He said: "We continue to look for a suitable purchaser. The sale board is going up because 'word-of-mouth' has not attracted any suitable interest.

"Our goal is to find a suitable use and a suitable purchaser with a long-term vision for this wonderful building."

JB Joyce was founded in Shropshire in about 1690 and was acquired by Smith of Derby in 1965.

Dr Smith said the firm was keen to attract a buyer who would be happy to keep the historic frontage of the building intact.

He said: "It is a very handsome Edwardian industrial building, designed at a time when Joyce's was producing some of the largest and most celebrated clocks internationally.

"We have the original 1905 architectural plans, which were simply dropped in by someone from the planning office many decades ago."

Although the site is unused, two clockmakers and one of the sales team continue to operate out of Whitchurch and Dr Smith said the firm treasured the Joyce company heritage and its links with the town.

However, the design and production for major projects required the modern equipment and collaborations offered by the much larger Derby headquarters.

He added: "Although the for sale sign is going up, we are certainly not pulling out of Whitchurch or cutting links with the town that has been the home of JB Joyce for so long."

William Joyce began in the north Shropshire village of Cockshutt making longcase clocks. The family business was handed down from father to son and in 1790 moved to High Street, Whitchurch. In 1904 it moved to the Station Road premises.

In 1830s Thomas Joyce made large clocks for local churches and public buildings then in 1849 the company copied the Big Ben escapement designed by Lord Grimthorpe. The firm made large clocks for many public buildings, at home and overseas, including railway companies.

Norman Joyce, the last member of the Joyce family, retired in 1964 and sold the company to Smith of Derby. Many original J B Joyce heritage pieces are still in operation around the world. And Smith of Derby has lent a number of significant pieces to Whitchurch museum and a sign on entering the town claims that it is "the home of clockmaking". In 2012, the firm auctioned off hundreds of pieces of equipment and tower clock parts dating back more than 100 years.