The broken clock in the Market House has caused more questions and complaints to staff at the Heritage Centre than anything else in Ross. The manager of the Heritage Centre, Mary Sinclair Powell told The Ross Gazette that she has had more queries about why the clock is not working than any other issue in all the years she has been working there.

The clock mechanism collapsed in November when the chain holding the weights snapped and other parts of the clock then also came away. Fortunately the weights did not come through the ceiling of the Market House which would have caused even more of a disaster. The sand bags placed in the roof for such an event held well - and are still holding.

Mary Sinclair Powell has reassured The Ross Gazette that the work is in hand to repair the clock but it is a large and costly business.

The clock was installed in 1852 and this is the first time that it has developed a major fault but Mary said :?"It was not something which could have been foreseen as it was just general wear and tear and old age that caused it to collapse."

Mary understands that all the relevant paperwork has been completed and the project is just waiting for approval by Herefordshire Council and the finance to be available to get the job done.

She said:?"The clock was put in the building by public subscription, which we all know takes a lot of time and hard work to organise. So perhaps the townspeople would like to be patient as it will take a lot of time to organise the repairs to make sure they are done properly."

Mary would also like The Ross Gazette to point out that there are not four clocks, just four clock faces running off one mechanism. So when one goes wrong they all go wrong.