The Central Square clock

In the 1980s Hamish Smith had the idea of a mantle clock chiming "Teribus", and the 1992 move to East Bank House provided the perfect location for a unique automaton turret clock.

This feature of Hawick town centre has been of great interest to local people and visitors alike.

The figurines

Four horsemen, dressed as for Hawick Common Riding, were modelled by Hamish Smith for the new clock.

The horsemen in action

These horsemen ride round the base of the clock every 15 minutes, to the tune of "Teribus"

The completed clock

It took a crane, some scaffolding, and a few grunts from Tosh Scott - but the clock was eventually put into position.

Tosh Scott

The clock 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".

 

The motor

The automaton mechanism, housed within the watertight interior of the case, uses a converted car windscreen wiper motor and bicycle gearing components!

This provides a near maintenance free system, beautiful in its simplicity.

 

The materials

The clock was completely designed and constructed in Hawick and all materials 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.

 

Notes on materials used

The clock itself

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 horses

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.

The mechanism

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.