REPAIR work has begun on Machynlleth’s iconic clock tower.

Next year sees the clock tower in the centre of the town celebrate its 150th anniversary and the town council has agreed to spend £55,000 to repair the structure, which has not chimed in three years.

Over the weekend, the much-loved 24-metre clock tower was encased in scaffolding.

Taking to social media, Machynlleth Town Council said: “We are delighted to announce that work has started on the clock tower. It is expected to take around 8 weeks. Many thanks to everyone that has supported moving this project forward!”

The clock tower was constructed on 15 July 1874.

Historian David Wyn Jones, who chronicled the history of the structure in his 2007 book ‘Machynlleth Town Clock’, says it was built by the residents of Machynlleth to celebrate the coming of age of the eldest son of the Fifth Marquess of Londonderry, who lived at Y Plas.

Public subscriptions raised enough money to build the clock tower and plant trees along both sides of Pentrerhedyn and Maengwyn Streets.

The winner of a competition to design the clock was architect Henry Kennedy, of Bangor. His design was built by Edward Edwards, a town builder.

It was made mostly of stone from Tremadog, near Porthmadog, complemented by red sandstone from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.