Brierley Hill High Street town clock returning after repairs

Work was commissioned by Dudley Council utilising government funding and undertaken by specialists Smith of Derby.

The piece, which dates back to the early part of the 20th century, will be returned to 151-153 High Street. The building was occupied from 1915 onwards by Jones Brothers, who sold electrical goods from the premises until the 1990s.

The work is part of a £10million of investment from the Future High Streets Fund bid, which has been awarded by central Government for key transformation works including improving connectivity and integration, refurbishments to the library, the recent reopening of the public toilets and enabling works to improve the look and feel of the High Street.

Councillor Paul Bradley, deputy leader and cabinet member for economic regeneration at Dudley Council, said: “The clock was a key feature of this building, a much-loved heritage asset of Brierley Hill’s High Street and one of 38 sites featured in the Brierley Hill Architectural Heritage Trail.

“The condition of the clock had seriously deteriorated and there was concern about the stability of the fixings to the building, but thanks to this funding we have been able to appoint specialists to restore it and we will have it back up in coming weeks.

“We are grateful to the owner and tenant of the building for working with us on this project and also to the relatives of the Jones Brothers family who have provided useful historical background."

Michele Jones, Ethan Burnett, Cllr Paul Bradley, Sharon Jones, Mitchell Eaton and Cllr Adam Davies, right, with the newly restored Jones Brothers clock (Image: Cllr Adam Davies)

Brierley Hill councillor Adam Davies, said: "The Jones Brothers clock was an icon of Brierley Hill High Street that told the story of a family business going back generations. 

"It's important that we preserve and protect heritage features that tell the stories of our local towns - particularly as we all know that high streets have changed so much from what they were, so I'm pleased we've managed to get this iconic clock restored.

"We're also continuing to push for future grants that will hopefully help encourage more building owners to improve their shop frontages as part of the ongoing effort to improve our High Street." 

Brierley Hill is benefitting from a £2.2million programme that has been made possible with High Streets Heritage Action Zone funding, which has seen work to the war memorial on Church Street, Brierley Hill Market and a series of other building projects and public realm improvements.