Town Hall glints golden

As part of the Bridport Town Hall Heritage and Conservation project, local artist Jemma Thompson has re-gilded the weathervane that tops the distinctive tower of the building.  The weathervane was removed from the building and taken to Jemma’s studio at St Michael’s to undergo the skilled process of reapplying the sheet gold finish. Moving such a heavy and cumbersome object was no mean feat and it took 10 men to get the weathervane back into place on the top of the building. Despite looking quite small from a distance the weather vane actually measures 2.4 meters across and is made from lead and copper, weighing approximately 100kg.

Bob Gillis, Town Clerk said “it is very pleasing to see the restored weather vane shining in the sun on the top of the building. The dome of the cupola has also been cleaned and the columns repainted. The clock face and surrounding slates are now being repaired and restored and as work is completed from the top down we will be lowering the scaffolding”.