The Nappers Mite Clock Sees New Life After 10 Years

Wednesday, October 31st, 2018

It’s been a long time coming, but the 19th Century Nappers Mite Clock sees new life. Thanks to funding by local residents, businesses and council, the clock has been fully restored following over 10 years of neglect. It now features an updated mechanism to maintain accurate time keeping, making the timepiece fit for the 21st Century.

The new Nappers Mite clock — The newly refurbished Nappers Mite clock

A Surprising Discovery

The most interesting part about the restoration is the discovery of the clock’s additional minute. Between the 7 and 8 were 5 minutes instead of 4. So the clock previously had 61 minutes as opposed to 60. This discrepancy hadn’t been recognised in all the years the clock sat on Dorchester’s busy South Street, which is very surprising.

Once discovered, the extra minute was painted out. Which some locals said it should have been left in as they liked these type of quirky historical mistakes.

Chris Groves, local retired sign painter, who generously volunteered to paint the sign said: “I couldn’t believe it. There was five little lines instead of four”.

Other volunteers that helped with the restoration include Graham Bebington and Richard Scriven. Graham worked on the clock’s mechanism and Richard repaired and replaced parts on the outer casing and brackets.

Napper Mite Clock before the latest restorations.

Community Feedback

Dorchester BID director Phil Gordon said “It’s been an aim for the BID to revive the Nappers Mite Clock for quite some time now. So when we were approached by Steve Newman, we couldn’t help but get excited at the prospect. And with funding from the South Street live music events during this past summer and a contribution from the Dorchester BID, we raised £837”.

David Taylor, Dorchester’s Mayor is also very happy with the refurbished timepiece: “I’m over the moon to see it back and working, it’s been a long time coming and on behalf of the town I would like to thank everyone who contributed,”

It’s a fantastic moment to see our local community come together to help fund a snippet of the town’s rich history.