Report by Duncan Williams for Pulman's Weekly News
Before the 19th century, timekeeping in England was far from standardised. Each town and city operated on its own 'Local Time', based on the sun’s position and calculated using sundials.
This lack of uniformity worked well enough in a pre-industrial world, where life moved at the pace of local communities. However, the arrival of the railway age - with its need for precise and synchronised schedules - exposed the flaws of this system, particularly in the West of England.
In the early 19th century, 'Local Time' varied significantly across Britain. For instance, 'Oxford Time' lagged five minutes behind 'Greenwich Time', 'Bristol Time' was ten minutes behind, and 'Exeter Time' trailed by a further four minutes.
For centuries, this lack of standardisation caused little concern. Public clocks were set to their locality, and life was governed by the rhythm of the sun.
However, the rise of the railway, particularly the Great Western Railway, d…
