Features / things you probably didn't know
Bristol’s smallest plaque and its connection with the clocks going back
Many people say that the pace of life in Bristol is slower than elsewhere, and it used to be officially so, with Bristol’s time ten minutes behind that in London due to the later sunrise and sunset.
There is a reminder of this on the clock outside the Exchange (now St Nick’s Market) on Corn Street, which has two minute hands, one ten minutes behind the other. The Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) hand is red and Bristol local time is black.
This dual timekeeping became necessary with the arrival of the railways, which in Bristol saw Temple Meads originally plying the Great Western Railway and the Bristol & Exeter Railway from 1841, and the Bristol & Gloucester Railway from 1844.
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Trains had to run on nationwide timetables, with England adopting a standardised railway time, something that had never been attempted before.
But many people in Bristol still resisted GMT, preferring to retain the city’s own time that had served them perfectly well for centuries.
The city fathers only officially adopted the standard time in 1852, five years after it was established elsewhere across the rest of the country.
Langford’s clock is now outside Costa on College Green – photo: Barbara Evripidou
When GMT did officially arrive in Bristol, it was received by telegraph from the Greenwich Royal Observatory in London to a clock made by William Langford.
Regulated to England’s new standard time, this clock sent signals to others in the city including the nearby Bristol Cathedral clock to ensure that they were all in sync.
To commemorate the job of this master clock and Langford’s efforts, Bristol’s smallest plaque, no larger than a 30cm ruler, can be found directly underneath the clock, now in a somewhat sorry state outside Costa on College Green.
Engraved on the metal plaque are the words: ‘This line is 2° 35′ 47″ west of the Greenwich Meridian (10 min. 23 secs.). In 1852, Mr Langford’s electric clock took its time by telegraph from the Greenwich Royal Observatory.’
This article is a chapter in the guidebook ‘111 Places in Bristol That You Shouldn’t Miss’ by Martin Booth. Take a walking tour with Martin of the Old City and Castle Park: book via www.yuup.co/experiences/explore-bristol-s-quirkiest-corners
Main photo: Barbara Evripidou
Read next:
- The secrets of Bristol’s most important clock
- This is Bristol’s oldest bridge
- 26 historic photos of College Green
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