A town clock affectionately nicknamed Little Ed has been removed for repairs.
There was great excitement on Tuesday (September 29), as Little Ed, the Stow on the Wold town clock, was taken down from St Edward's church tower for restoration.
Specialist engineers abseiled down the tower to carefully remove the clock, along with its hammers and mechanism, before transporting it to the Cumbria Clock Company for refurbishment.
Sue Lane, from the fundraising group Closely Knit, said: "It was such a historic day.
"We have worked so hard, fingers to the bone – knitting, knitting and knitting to raise the money.
"It was absolutely wonderful to see the beginning of the restoration."
The group has played a major role in raising funds for the repairs through their knitting and crocheting efforts.
Fellow knitter Susan Lipthorpe said: "We couldn’t believe what we were seeing as the clock came down.
"It’s been many months of fundraising and everyone has been so generous.
"We’re so looking forward to seeing the return of Little Ed to the clock tower and the new gilded Roman numerals."
The Little Ed fundraising campaign has so far raised £32,000, just £3,000 short of its target.
St Edward’s Church relies entirely on donations, with no central funding from the Church of England.
It costs £80,000 a year to keep the doors open at St Edward’s and all this money comes from the congregation with no funding from the central Church of England.
A spokesperson said: "We are a small congregation and keeping our church open isn’t an easy task.
"The population of our town has fallen as homes become tourist accommodation.
"We also appreciate that money is tight for many people with the ever-rising cost of living.
"But because we are self-funding, work like restoring our lovely old clock is an extra cost, on top of our day-to-day church running costs.
"We appreciate any help you can give to ‘Save Little Ed’."
Contributions can be made via cheque, payable to PCC Stow on the Wold, with "CLOCK" marked on the envelope.
Cheques can be placed in the red safe beside the church door or handed directly to church treasurer Peter Dixon.
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