Repair to St Martin-le-Grand Church clock in Coney Street, York

One eagle-eyed Press reader got in touch to say the "little man" who normally sits on top of the clock outside St Martin-le-Grand Church, in Coney Street has disappeared.

Rev Liz Hassall, priest-in-charge of York city centre churches, said the Little Admiral, as he is known, was taken down a few months ago after damage was spotted and he's now been sent off for repair.

Rev Hassall said she couldn't put a timescale on how long it will be before he returns from the workshop in Carlisle in Cumbria, but hopefully it won't be too long.

Back in 2012 The Press reported that £54,000 of repairs were carried out to the clock and a ten-month renovation project was undertaken by the Cumbria Clock Company, the same firm who are carrying out the repairs now.

It was the most work the clock had needed doing since it was rebuilt and restored to the church in 1966 and meant it once again struck the hours as well as chiming every 15 minutes.

The then Archdeacon of York, the Ven Richard Seed, rededicated the clock after praising local charities and trustees for their support.

The operation to put it back in place started at 6am on the day, with Gate Helmsley-based York Crane Hire in charge.

Chuck Richardson, the firm’s owner, said at the time: “We took the clock down last year and were asked to lift it back on to the church. It’s extremely delicate and we had a team of five working on the job, which took about four hours. Even though it was early, there was a crowd of 20 to 25 people watching it happen and taking pictures and videos, so we had quite a few spectators.”

A clock has stood over Coney Street since 1668. The current design dates back to 1856, while the figure of the naval officer on top of the timepiece has been there since 1779. 

After 2012 the clock has been wound weekly by members of the York Clock Group.

The tune for the new quarter-hour chimes was written by York composer Andrew Carter.