Parabola, landlords of the historic building in Edinburgh’s West End, have co-funded the restoration of the famous ‘Binns Clock’, named after the former department store that first installed it in 1960.
The clock is one of Edinburgh’s best-known landmarks and has been restored as part of the joint effort with Johnnie Walker, the world’s number one-selling Scotch whisky. The beautiful cantilever clock is located on the corner of Princes Street and Hope Street in the heart of the city.
Sadly, the classic timepiece had fallen into a sad state of neglect and disrepair over recent years but is now beautifully and meticulously restored to its former glory.
The clock has been restored, over the past year, by The Cumbria Clock Company, one of the UK’s leading specialist restorers, who have worked on some of the UK’s most famous timepieces, including The Great Clock (Big Ben) and the Royal Liver Building, led the restoration.
The Cumbria Clock Company dismantled the timepiece to study its original mechanics and colours, including the hand painted highland figures that march out of the clock to mark the hour and half hour, before meticulously rebuilding it. They have also repaired the musical mechanism which plays the traditional Scottish tunes ‘Caller Herrin’ and ‘Scotland the Brave’ every half an hour as the kilted figures march out of the clock.
In keeping with tradition, the highland figures will emerge to the musical accompaniment every seven and 37 minutes past the hour.
Parabola Managing Director, Tony Hordon, said: “We’re delighted to have played our part in the restoration of this iconic part of the Edinburgh city centre landscape and we look forward to it being enjoyed by residents and visitors for many years to come.”
Mark Crangle from the Cumbria Clock Company said: “It has been a meticulous process restoring the clock to its original condition. We had to delicately strip back worn paintwork to source and match the clock’s original colours and gold trimmings, and we spent a great amount of time on the speed and timings of the bells, tunes and pipers to ensure it all matched perfectly.
“Working on this restoration project has been such a privilege and I’ve really enjoyed hearing the stories of what the clock means to locals and how it’s played a role in so many special memories. These stories really consolidate why we do what we do, and we can’t wait for Edinburgh residents to now be able to enjoy the clock again in all its grandeur.”
Johnnie Walker Princes Street will tell the 200-year-old story of the world’s best scotch whisky across an eight-floor multisensory visitor attraction. Due to open in summer 2021, the whisky experience will feature rooftop bars, private dining areas, modern sensory tasting rooms, personalised tour and tasting experiences, and live performance areas.
The opening of the state-of-the-art visitor centre is part of Diageo’s £185m investment into the transformation of its Scotch whisky experiences, which will also see investment into 12 of Diageo’s Scottish whisky brand homes and the revival of lost distilleries Port Ellen and Brora.