TIME is ticking for a Cradley church to raise £15,000 to restore a tower clock dial which was saved from demolition.

St Peter’s Church is planning to install the old clock from St Luke’s in Cradley Heath onto its tower to help preserve the memory of its now wiped out counterpart.

As part of the project, the church has launched its ‘Just a Minute’ appeal where, for a donation, people and local businesses can choose a certain minute on the clock dial and write – in no more than 100 words – why that particular minute is important to them.

A church spokesman said: “We want people to select a memorable time, such as when they were born, started school, got married, went on a wonderful holiday or a poignant occasion.

“It is hoped that at the end of the project and once the clock is installed, we can put all the contributions and names into a book and have it on display in the church for future generations.”

Roger Whitehouse, a former church warden of St Luke’s, has spoken of the ‘pride’ the congregation felt when they heard St Peter’s wanted to save the clock dial.

“When St Luke's Church closed some items that had been used in the church were shipped to foreign lands,” he said. “They are now being used in various parts of the world in many different churches.

“So you can only imagine the pride felt by members of St Luke's congregation when they heard that St Peter's Cradley, a church very local to St Luke’s, had made a request to save the clock dial.

“The dial was a prominent feature on the High Street of Cradley Heath for 67 years, providing a time check for the community, at the heart of the chain making industry in the Black Country.

“When completed, we hope the restored dial can serve the community of Cradley, in a similar manner, over many years to come.”

The project will be split into three parts – the dial restoration and installation, the fitting of quarter hour and hour chimes, and floodlighting the tower to make the church more visible at night.

People can donate to the project online at www.crowdfunder.co.uk/a-new-clock-for-cradley.

Entries into the appeal – which can be as big or small as people wish – can be sent to 3 Greenways, Cradley, Halesowen, B63, 2JT, in an envelope marked ‘Just a Minute Appeal’.

It needs to include a chosen clock time in AM or PM, the 100 words, a name, contact email address or telephone number, along with a cheque for the donation made payable to 'PCC of Cradley Parish', with the back of the cheque marked 'Clock Fund'.