A FEW weeks ago, the clock in the tower of St James's Church played irritating pranks on the villagers, reported Ariel in the Gazette a century ago.

"Some days it would not strike, on others it went slow, and sometimes it refused to go at all.

"Its conduct called for the intervention of the churchwardens, and they brought it to the notice of the clock repairer, Mr Wilkins. Since then it has been on its best behaviour."

The church clock at the Wells had also been giving trouble, he reported

"Its hands have been paralysed and its nervous system out of order, and yet it has never changed countenance, however much the man in the street, the letter-carrier and the churchgoer have spoken impertinently before its face.

"Early and late its doctor has visited it and tried to set it right, without much success, and the oiled feather has been tried to heal its temper. Neither the brakes nor the motor could be regular, and husbands coming in late at night have laid the blame on the church clock.

"We trust that its ailment is only temporary and not chronic, or we will have to appeal to the Urban Council to give us a new clock, that we may know when it is time to pay our rates."