HAMISH D SMITH
EAST BANK HOUSE
BOURTREE PLACE
HAWICK TD9 9HW
01450-372294
|
About 25 years ago Hamish Smith had the
idea of a mantle clock chiming "Teribus". The jeweller's business,
established in 1971, moved into the new premises at East Bank House in 1992
(across from the famous Horse Monument) providing the perfect location for a
unique automation turret clock to become part of the new shop frontage -
thus providing a feature of great interest to both local people and visitors
alike.
Three
horses and riders representing the Hawick Common Riding Cornet and his
Right and Left Hand Men are seen… resplendent in their full Common Riding
Regalia of green coats, top hats, boots and rosettes… the horses with
bridles, stirrups and saddles… every quarter hour moving to the strains of
"Teribus"!
|
 |
|
|
 Whilst
the clock is absolutely original, it was partly inspired by the "Binns"
clock in Princes Street, Edinburgh.
......................... |
|
|
 |
The
clock itself was completely designed and constructed in Hawick and all
materials were sourced locally. A combination of the finest possible
materials, modern techniques and expert workmanship has produced a clock in
which the delicacy and fine details belie the fact that it was constructed to
withstand the elements for many decades. |
|
The clock itself
was constructed by Tosh Scott in his workshop at Trinity Street,
Hawick. "Hamish", says Tosh, "is an assumer: he
dreams up a plan and assumes that I can put it into practice".
......................... |
|
|
|
Best quality 1" marine plywood was used to provide a strong
sub-structure. This was then strengthened and enhanced with the finest
seasoned mahogany. The wood was then treated with modern preservatives and
finished with the latest "breathable" high tech varnish. The roof was
constructed using eight contoured templates of 1" marine plywood with 1"
lathes to give strength.
Traditional
lead was applied to the roof by an expert craftsman. The case is attached to
the wall above the shop and is supported by massive steel brackets. The
three backlit dials are opalescent Perspex and feature traditional Roman
numerals. The devices on the dial corners, depicting hawthorn branches, and
the dials themselves, which are protected by laminated bandit glass, were
achieved using a vinyl transfer technique. Very technical but also
incredibly fascinating.
|
 |
|
The automaton mechanism,
housed within the watertight interior of the case, uses a converted car
windscreen wiper motor and bicycle gearing components! According
to Hamish, this provides a near maintenance free system, beautiful in its
simplicity.
............................ |
|
|
 |
The horses themselves are in glass reinforced resin with their
"tack" crafted in pewter. The riders were individually crafted in steel
and brass, clothed in pewter and hand carved resins, then hand
enamelled.
The horses move with a jaunty cantering action in a circular path and
are housed out of sight in the base of the clock case, appearing only
during each quarter hour chiming between 9am and 7pm. |
|
|
home page
the clock
designer jewellery
horse and pony
gifts
steve hislop |
|
|
The
mechanical 8 day clock mechanism, which plays the chiming of the "Teribus"
chorus and controls the switching of the automata, is situated within the
shop and the chimes are piped by a special microphone via an amplifier to a
weather proof loud speaker housed in a clock case. It is an incredible
addition to the beautiful and historic features of Hawick and well worthy a
visit to see this unique creation at work. |
 |
|
|
More about the craftsmanship of Hamish Smith» |
|
|
© Hamish D Smith 2006 |
|