ALTHOUGH not one of the museum exhibits, the Millennium Clock will be of interest to clock enthusiasts. It stands in the Cocoa Yard next to the museum.

   It was made to celebrate the Millennium in Nantwich by clockmaker Paul Beckett of Caernarfon, and is now on show in a glass case in front of a 19th century burner - all that remains of a coach manufactory.

   Local schoolchildren took part in design workshops in the run-up to the production of the clock.

   Its up-to-the-minute design includes three dials - one each for the hours, minutes and seconds. Artwork on the case helps in telling the time.

   Other engraved symbols on the case mark various aspects of the town - a design to be found on Tudor buildings in Nantwich, the phoenix rising from the flames of the Fire of Nantwich (1583), the Civil War, a cocoa plant representing the Cocoa Yard, dairy farming, the general music of the area, salt deposits, cheese making, clothing and shoes.

   Paul Beckett's website said: "The Nantwich Millennium clock is a mechanical clock which is electronically rewound. It is housed in a plannar glass case. It is constructed from stainless steel, titanium, lead crystal and ceramic. It is a free-standing clock which is intended to invite the viewer to explore how time is created mechanically."