"WHY are some church clockfaces blue?” asks Aubrey Clethero, of Shildon.

Aubrey, you will remember, is the toasterman of Shildon. A fortnight ago, we featured his 60-yearold Hotpoint which he still uses on a regular basis. No one has yet come forward with an older working kitchen appliance – please let us know.

Aubrey’s question has been perplexing us for a few weeks now.

There is a vague theory on the internet that blue is the colour associated with St Mary and so clocks on churches dedicated to her wear her colours.

Thoughts immediately sprung to St Mary’s, Gainford. It is blue and it was installed in 1865 by Potts and Company of Leeds – the first clock outside West Yorkshire that the company made.

The founder of the firm was William Potts, who was born in Salt Yard, Bondgate, Darlington, in 1809. There is a memorial clock to him in the town’s South Park.

But Hornby church, where the four soldiers killed in the 1944 explosion are buried, is a St Mary’s and its 250-year-old clockface is white.

Darlington’s parish church has a blue face, and yet it is a St Cuthbert.

As a more in-depth entry on the Memories’ blog explains, St Cuthbert’s has had an exterior clock since 1760 (it paid Ralph Coates £13 for an interior one in 1686). It was replaced in 1887 by one made by Mr R Richardson of Middlesbrough.

“All the bushes and wheels are made of the very best gunmetal and the clock, when erected, can be guaranteed to keep time within a second or two in the week,” said the Echo on October 29, 1887. “The face of the clock will be black as before with gilt letters. The hours will be struck on a bell weighing a ton.”

So originally St Cuthbert’s had a black face.

In 1909, Potts replaced Mr Richardson’s clock, but kept his dials. Indeed, in 1935 when the face was finally replaced, the Northern Despatch said: “The dial with its gilt figures and hands is almost identical in appearance with the old one, which was made of wood.”

So has St Cuthbert’s been black-and-gold in living memory?

A few other blue faces: St Peter’s, Croft-on-Tees; St Edwin’s, High Coniscliffe; St Cuthbert’s, Forcett; St James the Great, Melsonby, and St Gregory’s, Bedale, which has a blue centre and a black outer.

So the St Mary’s theory doesn’t seem to hold water.

Dear reader, can you help? Do you have a blue face?

For that matter, does your church have a clockface that is anything other than boring white? Is there a red one anywhere? Please let us know – either on the blog, by email, phone message or that old-fashioned postthing – if only for Aubrey’s sake.