LISKEARD’S historic clock has been damaged in an act of vandalism.

A hole in a glass pane on the south face of the clock was recently discovered and the police have been informed.

While the Town Council is not sure how the damage was done, they say it looks like it’s possible the clock was shot at with an air rifle.

Liskeard’s clock is still wound by hand by members of staff who clamber up the steps and ladders inside the tower.

The Guildhall and Clock Tower were constructed in 1858 to serve as the Town Hall and Magistrates Court and are Grade II Listed.

The clock itself was formally presented to the town in 1868 by its then mayor, local coal and iron merchant John Clark Isaac. It’s one of the oldest clocks in the country with a mechanism of its kind still in working use. Due to the need for two people to wind the heavy weights back up to the top of the tower, and the social distancing rules in place, the clock stopped moving for just the second time in its history during the coronavirus lockdown.

The hands were set in motion once more once restrictions lifted, and a film of the mechanism being wound was made for the Liskeard Unlocked heritage festival.