CALLS have been made for a historic church clock in Southampton to chime once again.
Businesses on the High Street in Southampton say the iconic Holyrood Church clock has been broken for more than a year and there have been no attempts to fix it.
The building has stood tall on Southampton soil since 1320, and although it has been reduced to a ruin, it remains an integral part of the city’s history.
For Ottoman Kitchen owner Niyazi Kaya, this is why it is so important the clock chimes again.
READ MORE: The oldest buildings in Southampton and their history
He said: “The clock was fixed last year during lockdown and it only worked for a day.
“It has never been working. People visit and wait for it to chime and nothing happens.
“If things like this fall into disrepair, then everything falls into disrepair.
“If you visited another city, not many places would allow a historical monument to not function.”
The church is well-known for its two quarter-jacks - small mechanical figures that strike a bell every quarter of an hour.
According to Historic Southampton, the quarter-jacks date to at least 1760.
Mr Kaya added: “The broken clock doesn’t make a good impression, especially when a lot of wealthy people from the cruise ships visit."
Martin Brisland of city heritage group See Southampton said the ancient figures of Sir Bevis and Ascupart who ring the clock's bells every 15 minutes have been "silent on and off for a while."
He said: "As a tour guide for See Southampton, author of four local history books and writer of many heritage articles, I definitely think the quarter-jacks are an important link to our medieval heritage, given that so much perished in the Second World War.
"It’s also a fun way to engage children with history as they wait for them to ring every 15 minutes (when working).
"Holyrood also reminds us of Southampton’s long connection to the sea.
"We were once known as ‘The Gateway to the World’."
Responding to concerns, leader of the council, Cllr Satvir Kaur has said the clock’s mechanism is “beyond its lifespan”.
She said: “We take enormous pride in our city’s heritage, which is why we regularly work with specialist conservation architects on our heritage assets.
“Holyrood Church is an important city landmark and its historic clock has an unusual mechanism that is regularly serviced and repaired by specialist clock engineers.
“It is these specialists that have sadly indicated that the mechanism is beyond its lifespan.
“However the team is continuing to explore options to keep this local landmark ticking, which will take time to resolve.”
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