Diweddariad am cloc St Ioan Abermaw
Mae'n debyg bod pawb sydd wedi dod i Bermo wedi sylwi ei fod wedi bod yn 12:18 ers cryn dipyn o fisoedd a bod y diweddariad hwn am y cloc yn hwyr.
Mae llawer o waith wedi'i wneud ar fecanwaith y cloc ei hun dros y blynyddoedd diwethaf ers ei chwalfa hirdymor ddiwethaf yn 2015 ac er ei fod wedi bod yn gweithio'n bennaf mae'r toriad diweddaraf oherwydd y rhannau olaf o'r cloc sydd heb eu cyffwrdd/atgyweirio sef y deialau. Ni fyddai’r atgyweiriadau hyn wedi bod yn bosibl heb roddion hael iawn ac ymdrechion codi arian pobl Bermo a Chyngor Tref Abermaw.
Roedd y cwmni clociau (Smith of Derby) sydd wedi bod yn gofalu am y cloc ers degawdau wedi rhybuddio yn ystod eu hymweliad atgyweirio diwethaf, os bydd y cloc yn torri i lawr eto, mai'r rheswm dros hynny yw bod angen trwsio ac ail-alinio'r gwaith deialu ar y tri wyneb cloc. Mae ein gwirfoddolwr sy'n mynd i fyny'r tŵr i ailosod yr amser a'i ailddechrau yn gallu tystio fod y deialau yn anodd iawn eu symud rhwng wedi deg yr awr a phump ar hugain wedi'r awr. Yn wreiddiol roedd y dyfynbris ar gyfer y gwaith yma yn uchel iawn oherwydd yr angen i gael mynediad i'r bysedd ar wynebau'r cloc a'u tynnu gyda sgaffaldiau ond diolch byth mae'r cwmni cloc bellach yn cyflogi tîm o beirianwyr sydd â thystysgrifau mynediad rhaff sydd wedi mwy na haneru'r gost.
Trefnwyd y rhan fwyaf o’r gwaith atgyweirio hwn sawl mis yn ôl ac roedd pawb yn obeithiol o gael y cloc i weithio eto’n gyflym ond yn y cyfamser dechreuodd y Gwylanod nythu ar ben y tŵr. Gan fod tarfu ar adar sy’n nythu yn anghyfreithlon mae’r cwmni cloc bellach yn ymweld â Sant Ioan ar y 5ed a’r 6ed o Hydref i wneud y gwaith ar ôl i’r gwylanod adael.
Dylai fod yn eithaf diddorol gweld y gwaith hwn yn cael ei wneud gan y bydd yn cynnwys nifer o bobl yn abseilio i lawr tair ochr y tŵr ac yn tynnu'r bysedd oddi ar holl wynebau'r cloc. Bydd y bysedd a gerau mewnol eraill yn cael eu cymryd i ffwrdd am y tro cyntaf ers 1897 i gael eu hatgyweirio, eu disodli a'u hail-gydbwyso cyn iddynt ddod yn ôl a'u hailosod ychydig wythnosau'n ddiweddarach.
Rydym yn ddiolchgar iawn i Gyngor Tref Abermaw am arian cyfatebol ar gyfer costau atgyweirio ac i gynulleidfaoedd eglwysi Bro Ardudwy sydd wedi cefnogi a rhoi o’u hamser yn rhydd i ymgymryd â’r prosiect hwn.
Os hoffech wirfoddoli i gynnal a chadw ein hadeiladau eglwysig, cysylltwch â ni. Rydym bellach yn grŵp oedrannus bach iawn a byddem yn falch iawn o unrhyw gymorth!
Os hoffech ein cefnogi’n ariannol, a fyddech yn ystyried sefydlu debyd uniongyrchol misol bach? Os felly, dilynwch y ddolen hon i lenwi’r ffurflen ar-lein a dewiswch “Bro Ardudwy” yn y rhestr buddiolwr.
St John's Barmouth clock update
Everyone who has visited Barmouth has probably noticed that it’s been 12:18 for quite a few months and that this update about the clock is long over due.
A lot of work has been undertaken on the clock mechanism itself over the last few years since its last long term breakdown in 2015 and while it has for the most part been working the latest breakdown is due to the final parts of the clock that haven’t been touched/repaired which are the dials. The previous repairs would not have been possible without the very generous donations and fundraising efforts of the people of Barmouth and Barmouth Town Council.
The clock company (Smith of Derby) who have been looking after the clock for decades had warned during their last repair visit that if the clock does breakdown again it will be due to the dial works on the three clock faces needing to be repaired and realigned. Our volunteer who goes up to the tower to reset the time and restart it can attest to the dials being extremely hard to move between ten past the hour and twenty five past the hour. Originally the quotation for these works was very high because of the need to access the fingers on the clock faces and removed them with scaffolding but thankfully the clock company now employs a team of engineers that have rope access certifications which has more than halved the cost.
Most of the organisation work to get these repairs done was arranged several months ago and everyone was hopeful of getting the clock working again quickly but in the intervening time the Seagulls began to nest on the top of the tower. Since disturbing nesting birds is illegal the clock company are now visiting St John’s on the 4th and 5th of October to undertake the work after the Seagulls have left.
It should be quite interesting to see this work being done since it will involve several people abseiling down the three sides of the tower and removing the fingers from all the clock faces. The fingers and other internal gears will be taken away for the first time since 1897 to be repaired, replaced and rebalanced before they come back and are reinstalled a few weeks later.
We are very grateful to Barmouth Town Council for match funding the repair costs and to the congregations of the Bro Ardudwy churches who have supported and given their time freely to undertake this project.
If you would like to volunteer with maintaining our church buildings please do get in touch. We are now a very small elderly group and we would be most glad of any assistance!
If you would like to support us financially, would you consider setting up a small monthly direct debit? If so, please follow this link to complete the online form and select “Bro Ardudwy” under Beneficiary.