'Stroud noon' clock unveiled as nod to town's quirky history
An antique clock - set permanently to 12:09 - has been unveiled
A stopped clock installation is paying tribute to the history of a Gloucestershire town's old time zone.
An antique clock - set permanently to 12:09 - has been unveiled at the Five Valleys Shopping Centre in Stroud.
In the 19th century, the town followed its own local time system - based on the position of the sun.
The piece was unveiled by the Mayor of Stroud yesterday (April 3rd) at 12:09 - with the hope that is can ignite imagination and 'start some interesting conversations'.
The Five Valleys team and owners Dransfield Properties researched the history of Stroud Time and visited the Museum in the Park to find out more about the story of when the town ran nine minutes behind Greenwich Meantime.
And when GWR came into Stroud back in 1845, the timetable ran on GMT - which was not the same zone as it was in Stroud.
As you can imagine, that caused much confusion, and later, in 1858, a clock was mounted outside the shop of the Jeweller Robert Bragg showing Greenwich or “Railway” time so local people had a reference for the train departures and arrivals.
Greenwich Mean Time did not officially become standard time by law until 1880.
Stroud was among the last 2% of UK towns to change from its own local time zone.
Managing Director of Dransfield Properties, James Shepherd, said: “Stroud is such a unique and special place and when we heard about the story of Stroud Time, we definitely wanted to celebrate that little bit of the town’s history with the clock we planned to install at Five Valleys.
“When it is 12:09 everywhere else, its noon according to the Stroud time zone - so we have called the piece Stroud Noon, we love the clock and the story behind it and we hope everyone else will too. “
Zoë Wilcox, the Documentation and Collections Officer, said: "We’re delighted that Five Valleys is showcasing the story of Stroud Time and we hope that people will come and see Robert Bragg’s clock in the museum to discover more about it."