This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/magazine/6936446.stm
The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Time stands still | Time stands still |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| By Denise Winterman BBC News Magazine Engineering work starts on Big Ben on Saturday, silencing its famous chimes for a few weeks. But other public clocks have been stopped for much longer. | By Denise Winterman BBC News Magazine Engineering work starts on Big Ben on Saturday, silencing its famous chimes for a few weeks. But other public clocks have been stopped for much longer. |
| Even a stopped clock is right twice a day, observed Austrian novelist Marie Von Ebner-Eschenbach. Telling the correct time just twice a day is all thousands of public clocks across the UK ever do these days. | Even a stopped clock is right twice a day, observed Austrian novelist Marie Von Ebner-Eschenbach. Telling the correct time just twice a day is all thousands of public clocks across the UK ever do these days. |
| Having fallen into a state of disrepair, many no longer work or have been removed from buildings. It's a sorry state of affairs for a country so well-endowed with historic public clocks. | Having fallen into a state of disrepair, many no longer work or have been removed from buildings. It's a sorry state of affairs for a country so well-endowed with historic public clocks. |
| Behind the clock face of Big BenIn pictures Ever since King Charles II founded the Royal Society and the Royal Observatory at Greenwich in 1660, timekeeping has been of national interest. Few other nations can compare to in terms of quantity, quality, engineering and design. | Behind the clock face of Big BenIn pictures Ever since King Charles II founded the Royal Society and the Royal Observatory at Greenwich in 1660, timekeeping has been of national interest. Few other nations can compare to in terms of quantity, quality, engineering and design. |
| And the UK is home to many of the world's finest - and most famous - public clocks. There's Big Ben, the astronomical clock at Hampton Court and the medieval clock at Salisbury Cathedral, believed to be the oldest working clock in the world, to name but a few. | And the UK is home to many of the world's finest - and most famous - public clocks. There's Big Ben, the astronomical clock at Hampton Court and the medieval clock at Salisbury Cathedral, believed to be the oldest working clock in the world, to name but a few. |
| But they are about more than just timekeeping for the British, says experts. | But they are about more than just timekeeping for the British, says experts. |
| "With public clocks it about so much more than just the practical side of things," says Peter Sully, who has worked for 27 years at one of world's leading clockmakers, Smith of Derby. | "With public clocks it about so much more than just the practical side of things," says Peter Sully, who has worked for 27 years at one of world's leading clockmakers, Smith of Derby. |
| "A public clock is a local landmark, it represents a sense of community and civic pride and those values are as valid today as they were in years gone by." | "A public clock is a local landmark, it represents a sense of community and civic pride and those values are as valid today as they were in years gone by." |
| Stop the clocks | Stop the clocks |
| There are several reasons why many public timepieces are in such a sorry state. Some were ignored or ripped out when buildings were developed from their original use. | There are several reasons why many public timepieces are in such a sorry state. Some were ignored or ripped out when buildings were developed from their original use. |
| Redundant? (Picture by Rob Smith)A lack of cash in the public and private sectors means their maintenance has slipped down the list of priorities and too often no one wants to take responsibility for their upkeep. "The saddest of the stopped clocks are those on church towers. Yet public clocks started as church objects, and some dating from the 17th Century are still in use," says Sir George White, keeper of the Clockmakers' Museum. | |
| Their precarious state became clear to website designer Alfie Dennen while walking home one day. He needed to know the time but all the public clocks on his route had stopped. When, on further investigation, he counted 11 stopped clocks in the space of just one square mile in London, he decided to do something. | Their precarious state became clear to website designer Alfie Dennen while walking home one day. He needed to know the time but all the public clocks on his route had stopped. When, on further investigation, he counted 11 stopped clocks in the space of just one square mile in London, he decided to do something. |
| He's now set up a site called Stopped Clocks where people can post locations and pictures of such clocks. He hopes the site will be a space for people get together to campaign for their local stopped clocks to be repaired. | He's now set up a site called Stopped Clocks where people can post locations and pictures of such clocks. He hopes the site will be a space for people get together to campaign for their local stopped clocks to be repaired. |
| BIG BEN UNDER REPAIR 'Bongs' will fall silent from 11 August until SeptemberClock itself will stop for few hours that dayAnd abseilers will give clock faces their five-yearly clean class="" href="/1/hi/england/london/6938143.stm">Chimes fall silent "Counting all those stopped clocks got me thinking about our rich analogue past and how it has been forgotten in the digital age we now live in," he says. | |
| "The UK is the epicentre of global timekeeping but clocks are also about so much more. They are part of the community, part of being British. For us punctuality is very important. They also bring people together through their imaginations. A ticking clock is used by artists and film makers to represent so many things." | "The UK is the epicentre of global timekeeping but clocks are also about so much more. They are part of the community, part of being British. For us punctuality is very important. They also bring people together through their imaginations. A ticking clock is used by artists and film makers to represent so many things." |
| If his previous projects are anything to go by, public clocks will soon rise up the national agenda. Mr Dennen is the man behind the hugely successful website werenotafraid.com. It was set for people to post pictures and messages of support after the 7 July bombings in London, and was phenomenal success. | |
| Mark the millennium | Mark the millennium |
| But while many public clocks have been neglected, the care of some is testament to how important they can be to a community. | But while many public clocks have been neglected, the care of some is testament to how important they can be to a community. |
| Marking time on Whitechapel Rd (picture by Rob Smith)Until earlier this year, when an auto-winding system was installed, the clock at St David's church in Neath, Wales was still wound by hand. Two council workers were sent each week to do the job, which involved climbing into the tower. It was a task that took over an hour. | |
| "It took considerable manpower and money to keep the clock going but we never thought it was a waste of time or resources," says a council spokesman. "The clock is about more than just telling the time, it's the centrepiece of Neath and the heart of the town." | "It took considerable manpower and money to keep the clock going but we never thought it was a waste of time or resources," says a council spokesman. "The clock is about more than just telling the time, it's the centrepiece of Neath and the heart of the town." |
| The millennium also sparked a revival in the people's desire to see public clocks which has continued ever since, says Mr Sully. A number of new clock towers were erected to mark the change from the 20th to the 21st Century. | The millennium also sparked a revival in the people's desire to see public clocks which has continued ever since, says Mr Sully. A number of new clock towers were erected to mark the change from the 20th to the 21st Century. |
| But with most people owning a wristwatch or mobile phone to tell them the time, are they still needed? | But with most people owning a wristwatch or mobile phone to tell them the time, are they still needed? |
| Rob photographed this Bond St gem when it was out of action"Absolutely," he says. "People don't realise how important they are until they stop. Often you look at a public clock first and then at your wristwatch without knowing you're doing it. | |
| "They still matter to people and I know this because of the amount of people who report stopped clocks to us." | "They still matter to people and I know this because of the amount of people who report stopped clocks to us." |
| But artist Rob Smith, who photographs the capital's defunct clocks, hopes they stay broken. "They mark on their faces the time at which they broke - for me they link these places in London to particular times. And I love the idea they might just be broadcasting misinformation to an unsuspecting public." | But artist Rob Smith, who photographs the capital's defunct clocks, hopes they stay broken. "They mark on their faces the time at which they broke - for me they link these places in London to particular times. And I love the idea they might just be broadcasting misinformation to an unsuspecting public." |
| Add your comments on this story, using the form below. | Add your comments on this story, using the form below. |
| This morning, I looked up at the clock on one of the shopping centres on Ealing Broadway, cycling to work. I thought briefly I must be strangely late, but it's either 25 minutes fast or stopped at 9.15. I'll look on my way home. I can't remember the last time I saw its mechanical figures in motion, striking the bells.Stu Maddison, Ealing, London | |
| The clock in the clock tower at my old grammar school is still operated by an annually nominated student, as it has been since it was built many years ago. It was always fantastic to go up into the rickety tower and wind the huge cales and counterweights. No doubt health and safety will soon put paid to this fine tradition.Ross, London | |
| The best thing about municipal clocks is the size. It's magical to actually see the hands moving due to the size of them.Andie Riley, Leeds, England | |
| Another case of knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing. Public clocks have a value far beyond telling the time but you cannot put a price on that.Colin, Lincoln, UK | |
| I seem to remember reading (quite a while ago) that there were laws in place governing the upkeep of public clocks, and I believe it was down to the owners of the building where the clock was installed to maintain it. If this ever existed and has not been rescinded perhaps we should enforce such a lawAdrian Clarke, Coventry | |
| I often used to see digital clocks at railway stations in need of repair - not working at all or with certain parts of the digits off or on permanently sometimes making it harder to tell the time. Those places need to keep clocks in working order. Richard Tinsley, Christchurch UK | |
| I first noticed this when I was a boy in the 70s. Seems like there were a lot more broken back then.Anant, London | |
| How can you tell the clocks in the pictures have stopped?Ian Clarke, Cardiff, UK | |