Shropshire business keeping clockmaking craft ticking-along as trade in danger of being lost to time
A husband and wife team are keeping a unique craft alive in Shropshire as their repair and restoration work keeps ticking away.
Wayne and Mel Morris, who run WJ Morris Clocks, at Walkmill Business Park, in Market Drayton, offer jewellery and clock service repairs and restorations to customers.
They have received a number of positive reviews for their service, which is a unique and rare craft currently at risk of being lost to time.
According to the Heritage Crafts charity, clock making is on the Red List of Endangered Crafts, with only around 250 professionals left in the UK.
The main issues affecting the viability of the craft include the lack of public awareness of career opportunities, as well as a lack of funding, the expense of setting up workshops, clockmakers retiring and the level of training being not as high as it once was.
Commenting on how he discovered this unique trade, Wayne said: "My grandfather was a clockmaker, but he was down in Wales.
"My father wasn't interested in clocks in the slightest, so my grandfather introduced me to it. I still have the same interest in it now and I'm 55 years old.
"Ever since then I have always carried it on. When I was 16, all I wanted to do was work with machinery. There's not many people doing it anymore which is a shame."
One day, Wayne was working in Market Drayton and saw a little shop for sale, he gave his job up to pursue his passion – and has been doing so for the last two years.
Some of WJ Morris's long case clocks date back to the early 18th century and a lot of work goes in to making sure that these pieces of history can operate once more.
Mechanical clocks first appeared in Europe in the 12th Century – the Salisbury Cathedral clock dates back to around 1386 and is said to be the oldest working clock in the world.
The earliest mechanical clocks did not have dials and instead relied on bells to chime the time. Their development was motivated by the need to ring bells upon the canonical hours to call the community to prayer.
The earliest known mechanical clocks were large striking clocks installed in towers in monasteries or public squares, so that their bells could be heard far away.
Wayne went on to say that there is a love in the local community of Drayton for clocks and people love to talk about them.
There is something therapeutic, he said, about listening to a grandfather clock tick away and also something 'mesmerising' in watching them work.
"My passion is long case grandfather clocks," Wayne added, "The mechanicals of them and making parts to fit.
"I think a big wall clock is the soul of the house, people don't realise it when it's there but only when it's stopped."
Richard Janes has become somewhat of a regular customer at WJ Morris Clocks and left a 'five' star review for Wayne and Mel.
He said: "Lured by the history and simple beauty, I have been looking for an old clock for many years. However, my limited knowledge, caution and scepticism of buying online halted any earlier purchase.
"The arrival of WJ Morris Clocks in Market Drayton and all that has changed. Wayne and Mel are so enthusiastic and knowledgeable that I felt instantly at ease.
"Down to earth explanations and history of the clocks gave me the confidence to purchase a beautiful Grandfather clock which is well over two hundred years old.
"And what a delight to enjoy the soft mellow tick tock whilst imagining what this old time piece has been through. Lives governed by the position of the hands.
"As soon as I mentioned taking it away in the back of the car, Wayne quickly explained how it would be much better for him to deliver the clock and set it up. Such excellent service, Thank you."
To find out more about the services Wayne and Mel offer, visit wjmorrisclocks.co.uk
For more information on heritage crafts, visit heritagecrafts.org.uk
