Gothic mystery of village clock

Have you ever wondered why the church clock at Chetwynd has seemingly Germanic wording?

We've dipped into our files to dig out a photo taken of the timepiece in March 1965 which explains the riddle.

"Many people passing through Chetwynd, near Newport, have been puzzled by the clock, and its inscription, on the steeple of its parish church," reads the caption.

"To many the lettering appears to be German, so much so that a rumour had it that it was a gift from German prisoners of war.

"This is untrue however, for the lettering is in fact Gothic, reading 'Easter Day, 1926', the day it was installed. It is a hundred years this year that the foundation stone for Chetwynd Church was laid after the old Chetwynd Church was found not to have enough room for its congregation and graves!"

Our Gothic expert is on a day off, so we'll take the above on trust, but the wording on the clock face does look to be "Die Paschae" and, according to Google Translate, Paschae is "Easter" or "Passover" in Latin.

The Church of St Michaels and All Angels at Chetwynd is a listed building, and was built between 1865 and 1867.

As it happens, the clock dials have been restored in the past few years by Smiths of Derby.

A post by the firm dating from 2015 says: "We were called in to remove the two dials to allow extensive stone restoration work on the tower to be carried out. However, they were in such a state of disrepair that we suggested it was an ideal opportunity to restore them to their former glory.

"The church agreed that a full restoration was necessary to preserve the clock dials for future generations, and Smith of Derby clockmakers restored them by reglazing, painting and gilding using 23.5 carat double thickness gold leaf, with brilliant results."

The dials had last been restored in 1970.