The heartbeat of a home

Heinz-Jürgen Roosen specialises in the repair of grandfather clocks. Although based in Birmingham, he is a frequent visitor to Jersey. He spoke to Alasdair Crosby about his work

Jersey is ‘stuffed’ with grandfather clocks; many of them are not in working order and are just kept as pieces of wooden furniture to adorn an empty space.

This information comes from HeinzJürgen Roosen, who specialises in the repair of all antique clocks. Born in Krefeld near Düsseldorf in Germany and resident in England since his youth, he has family living in the Island and is a regular visitor, travelling to Jersey every few months to repair the very many clocks that need his expert attention.

‘I first came to Jersey to see a friend and he had a clock that nobody in the Island seemed to be able to put right. I repaired it successfully; my friend told some other people about me and by word of mouth my reputation seems to have grown.

My work in Jersey has kept me busy for some 20 years, going to and fro between Jersey and the UK - and making many friends during that time.

‘And the business is on-going. I enjoy it; I’ve managed to make a lot of people happy by making their clocks work again.’

He continued: ‘There are some really wonderful clocks in Jersey, some of them very expensive. From what I hear, I gather it is very difficult to get these clocks repaired locally. Clock repair is a particular skill and my own engineering background is helpful. I am German (although I have lived most of my life in the UK) so of course everything has to be correct!’ Heinz-Jürgen arrived in England when he was aged 17 and took a five-year engineering apprenticeship degree at the British Motor Corporation’s Longbridge plant, followed by a degree at Birmingham University. He worked under Alec Issigonis on the creation of the Mini car and took part in the celebrations as the first Mini came off the production line. Later, he joined Severn Lamb Ltd, the transportation manufacturer then based in Stratfordupon-Avon, renowned worldwide for various forms of transport systems and equipment that are principally aimed at the leisure market. He was invited to become managing director to oversee the global operations of the company, where he spent 16 years until retirement.

He said: ‘Clocks have always been a passion of mine since I received my first grandfather clock as a birthday present, 50 years ago. When I retired, my son said: “Well Dad, you’ve been very active, you’re not going to sit at home in your track suit and do nothing.” He went on eBay and bought ten more clocks in need of repair, so that was the start of my clock repair business.’ The first grandfather clock was created in 1680; originally these clocks (more correctly called ‘longcase clocks’) were fairly simple in design; the wooden frame encasing the pendulum and weights was often a coffin obtained from an undertaker. But a clock’s cost made it an expensive item and over the 18th Century the design became increasingly elegant and elaborate.

Heinz-Jürgen continued: ‘I’ve worked on clocks that are 300 years old and got them working again to last another 100 years. I often think, as I work on a clock, that the last person to do so was probably an apprentice 200 years ago, who only had a needle file to cut the fine brass teeth and a candle to provide light and to give him some warmth. Now, I am working on the same clock and my work will keep it going for another century.’

Asked about the most common faults that cause grandfather clocks to stop working, he said that owners did not treat them in the same way as they would treat their car; they would never think of not servicing their car or just waiting to do so until it broke down, but a clock is just as much a machine as a car.

He added: ‘What could be better than keeping a clock active so that it provides a living connection to the days when the same slow, steady, tick-tock noise would have been heard by those who are now long departed? For them, just as for today’s owners, that clock provides the heartbeat that links the past with the present and turns a house into a home.’