Clock Tower landmark gets a facelift thanks to Morris Lubricants

A prominent Shrewsbury landmark – the Clock Tower at Morris Lubricants’ Castle Foregate headquarters – is undergoing a facelift in time for winter.

The maintenance project, which is costing around £10,000, involves cleaning and repainting the four clock faces and repointing masonry. A key part of the project is to provide a new surround for the clock face at the rear of the tower.

The clock, which was made by J. B. Joyce & Co of Whitchurch in 1946, is wound every week by Christopher Williams or Patrick George from Morris Lubricants’ maintenance team, ensuring that local people are kept updated on the time.

The Clock Tower itself was built it 1876 and was part of the original Corbett’s Perseverance Ironworks, which was bought by Morris Lubricants, Britain’s leading family-owned, independent oil blenders, in 1927.

“The Clock Tower is an important part of Shrewsbury’s heritage and people entering or leaving the town along Castle Foregate see and admire it,” said David Goddard, a director of Morris Lubricants. “We consider it our duty to preserve the heritage of the town and that’s why we give the Clock Tower a major overhaul every 10 years.”

The company makes a huge range of lubricants for customers across the UK and around the world, including clock oil, which ensures that their own clock runs smoothly and keeps time accurately.

“We actually supply clock oil to a select group of customers around the UK,” said Mr Goddard.

Morris Lubricants has been manufacturing lubricants in Shrewsbury since 1869. More than 146 years of development has seen the company grow to become one of Europe’s leading oil blenders and marketers, with a reputation for quality and service.

The company offers an extensive range of performance lubricants covering a wide variety of application areas, from steam engines to modern-day commercial vehicles and industrial machinery. The oils are capable of coping with temperature extremes, from the searing heat of the Outback in Australia to the freezing Arctic Circle.