Man who keeps pieces of history ticking over

IT IS midday and at the House of Dun a cacophony of noise has been unleashed as dozens of clocks in all shapes, sizes, ages and designs chime into life.

Time is ticking away — from a Rentzsch clock made in England in 1820 and a mid-19th century Austrian creation covered in mother of pearl to a grandfather clock from Edzell and a bedside alarm.

Ensconsed in an upstairs bedroom, away from the summer tourists visiting one of William Adam's finest designs, Ken Chapelle is a happy man.

He is a restorer of antique clocks, the only one in Scotland to be accredited by the Institute of Conservation. And he has just started a survey of the 300 clocks owned by the National Trust for Scotland, covering 30 of their properties. The project, which will come to an end in the autumn, will also see him help keep the clocks ticking by repairing damage.

But why bother? Don't we live in an age when most people can tell the time by their watch, mobile phone or computer?

"I would say a clock, in trust properties, is probably the only object that makes a noise and moves," says Mr Chapelle. "One clock per room is desirable — it shows you what a house was like."

Despite being surrounded every day with gold and jewel- encrusted creations, Mr Chapelle is very fond of the early 19th century Tower Clock, high on the stables at the House of Dun in Angus. "It was in very poor condition, covered in rust and bird droppings and bringing it back to working order was very satisfying. It is also very well made — it's by a French maker called Collin, you can see it signed on the dial. It's a shame really that the public can't enjoy the mechanism, because it is beautiful."

When it comes to keeping the clocks working, Mr Chapelle tries to use as much of the existing mechanism as possible.

"My approach is that it is restoration but you do the minimal amount. The real challenge is to keep as much of the original as possible and yet get the clock to work."

For Mr Chapelle clocks have become a passion, as well as an occupation, but it could have been very different when he started more than 30 years ago.

He says: "It was almost by accident, I thought I could make a living by being an antique dealer. I had no money at the time and because I had no money I had no car so it had to be something that was portable, and that was clocks and watches.

"I soon found I was a hopeless dealer, but I really enjoyed getting the clocks going."

John McKenna, the House of Dun property manager for the NTS, says the clocks, which date back from the 18th century right up to 1950, evoke the history of the place. He says: "You see the purchases of the family though the centuries," adding that the chimes and ticks are "like a heart beating".

Many of the clocks in the House of Dun are priceless but have not been fully valued as there are no plans to sell them. However, some of the hidden gems kept in store will be put on display once security has been improved in the coming weeks.

It sounds a big undertaking but Mr McKenna says: "Every piece is significant in its own right, historically and in horological terms."

In the entrance to the House of Dun is an ornate Louis XIV clock, dating from just after the property was built in 1730 for David Erskine, the 13th Laird of Dun, a judge of the Court of Session. Mr McKenna says: "The clock makes a statement; I am a wealthy landowner and I am absolutely strutting my stuff.

"Considering the age of this clock you have to take your hat off to the previous owners and to the National Trust for Scotland — its condition is 9 out of ten, considering it is the better part of 260 years old."

Mr Chapelle, who is a Fellow of the British Horological Institute, has counted the NTS as a client for 28 years and his records of repairs and observations in that time will be collated as part of the survey in order to provide an accurate picture for future generations.

Julie Bon, a conservator with the National Trust for Scotland, says that when Mr Chapelle, who is 62, retires, the trust is keen to have someone continue his work. But it will not be easy to find someone with the right skills, she says; hence the survey.

"Ken may want to do other things or scale back, and we are in a position at the moment to almost download all the information in his head. And that is so valuable to have for the future."

Times change

There is more than craftsmanship behind clocks. An apparently ordinary wall clock in the House of Dun reveals an unusual episode of history.

Ken Chapelle says: "The tearoom here has an Act of Parliament Clock. A tax was introduced in 1797 on all clocks and watches. So people got rid of their personal clocks and watches and relied on large public clocks.

"That's why, strictly speaking, clocks strike the hours.

"St Giles in Edinburgh, for example, does not have a dial, but you can hear it strike the hours and the quarters, so that is a true clock."