Tredegar's town clock celebrates its 150th birthday.
Residents are celebrating the 150th anniversary of a south Wales valley town's iconic clock.
The cast-iron 72ft (22m) Tredegar clock was the idea of an ironmaster's wife who helped raise £1,000 to build it.
Built in 1858 when Queen Victoria had reigned for 21 years, the landmark later became the focal point of events marking the end of World War II.
Residents of the Blaenau Gwent town paraded to the listed clock to sing happy birthday for the celebration.
Its clock's four faces were designed to be seen from all areas of the town and it was placed for the convenience of iron and coal workers in the area.
LIFE IN 1858
Queen Victoria, Britain's longest-reigning monarch, had been on the throne since 1837, and would stay there until her death in 1901
The Earl of Derby follows Viscount Palmerston as Prime Minister
Virgin Mary reputedly appears to Saint Bernadette of Lourdes
The Wedding March by Mendelssohn becomes popular
Hyman Lipman patents a pencil with an attached eraser
First transatlantic telegraph cable
The clock may never have been built if it had not been for the fund raising efforts of Mrs RP Davis, the wife of the manager of Tredegar Iron Company.
Mrs Davis tried to raise £500 by organising a bazaar and other events in the town after her wealthy husband had agreed to hand over the other £500.
But Mrs Davis died before the bazaar took place, and was never to see her work come to fruition.
The residents raised £400 in total but Mr Davis gave an extra £100 on top of the £500 he had promised in memory of his wife.
"It was cast in Newport and transported in sections by tram to Tredegar," said Tredegar town clerk and historian John Evans.
"The installation started in 1856 and the clock first ran in 1858.
"The mechanism was made by a firm called JB Joyce from Whitchurch in Shropshire.
High and mighty: Balloons are released to mark the anniversary
"JB Joyce still services it now, 150 years later."
Dr Evans said the clock also made the news in the late 19th Century when it was hit by lightning, sending the weather vane crashing to the ground.
"It was a well-known spot for ladies of the night to gather," he said.
"The clock was struck by lightning and the cockerel came off the top and hit one of these ladies.
"She recovered, according to some reports, but died according to others.
"The clock had a lightning rod on it for some time until someone pointed out it was cast iron and didn't need it!"
The clock was also the scene of celebrations in the town on both Victory in Europe Day and Victory in Japan Day at the end of WWII in 1945.
A marching band adds a musical note to Tredegar's celebration
Trevor Jones, 78, who has written a song about the clock and was a milkman in Tredegar for 57 years, remembers VE Day clearly.
"The crowds filled up The Circle around the clock, and the streets beyond," he said.
"There was a big uplift because the war was over and we had won and everyone was glad of an excuse to let go of their feelings.
"One of the other big events here was in 1929 when Nye Bevan was made a Member of Parliament and it was announced from the balcony opposite the clock."
More recently, the clock stopped ticking in 2007 after rain affected its mechanism.
But its former glory has been restored following refurbishment work costing around £80,000.
Dr Evans said: "The clock's so historical, it's known worldwide.
"You talk to anybody from Tredegar and they want to know about the clock - if the clock is still working, if the clock is still here, if it's been taken away.
"And it is very much still here!"
Celebrations continue with "songs of praise" around the clock at 1430 BST on Sunday.
This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.
Bookmark with:
What are these?