Features / things you probably didn't know
The secrets of Bristol’s most important clock
Bristol is full of fascinating clocks. There is the one on the Corn Exchange on Corn Street, now St Nick’s Market, which has two minute hands as a reminder of the time when Bristol was ten minutes’ behind London; another on College Green that was the city’s ‘master clock’ when Greenwich Meantime was introduced nationwide; and the blue clock on the former Bristol Tramways office on St Augustine’s Parade, with the Tramways Centre tram stop remembered in the name of the area still called ‘the centre’.
Another clock, however, has been responsible for generations of Bristolians not missing their train.
The clocktower at Temple Meads has four turrets above it. When it was built in Tudor Revival style in 1874, these four turrets surrounded a steep French Empire roof which was later destroyed in the Second World War.
is needed now More than ever
But have you ever wondered what is inside?
Bristol24/7 was granted exclusive access to the clocktower thanks to Network Rail to uncover some of its secrets.
Inside the clock tower at Temple Meads
The clock mechanism for the station’s timepiece
A steep French Empire roof above the clocktower was destroyed in the Second World War
All photos & video: Martin Booth
Read more:
- New Sainsbury’s to open near Temple Meads
- All change at Temple Meads
- Temple Meads ranked one of worst stations in UK for punctuality
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