People tend to take for granted the remarkable precision of English timekeeping, but that wasn’t always the case.
In wintertime, Britain observes GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), and in summertime BST. Additionally, European Daylight Saving Time regulations must also be observed.
There are 24 time zones; the United Kingdom falls into Time Zone C.
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
Time in England is controlled by Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) throughout the year and British Summer Time (BST) from March to October. GMT differs from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the standard used worldwide as the basis for time zones.
Before the Industrial Revolution of the mid 19th century, time-keeping was limited to astronomers and sea captains. Following railway expansion and globalisation, standardised times became essential for businesses and international communication – so in 1884 the Royal Observatory at Greenwich established one.
England remains one hour ahead of most Western Europe during summertime, making us unique among nations by calling its Daylight Saving Time “Summer Time”.
Greenwich takes its name from its history as the site of an observation-based time standard – Greenwich village six miles downstream from London on the River Thames. Now home to the Prime Meridian Line (longitude 0deg), which serves as GMT reference point since 1884; visitors can experience what it was like navigating across continents centuries ago by standing astride it with one foot on each hemisphere – standing along it can help visitors to understand what life was like before GPS!
At the Royal Observatory, visitors can discover the fascinating story behind GMT and its development over time, clocks, and watches. Unveil navigational timelines through John Harrison’s 18th-century chronometers to Ruth Belville’s daily practice of adjusting watches at the Royal Observatory.
As the UK is predominantly using GMT as its base time standard, some regions in some places utilise different standards depending on local solar or meteorological conditions and several countries use both GMT and other systems in conjunction. Canada for instance uses GMT during daylight savings time but has its own system called Canadian Eastern Standard Time which should be checked prior to travelling as some places may employ different standards and thus cause confusion when communicating with locals who reside there.
Daylight Saving Time (DST)
As the clocks shift back from Daylight Saving Time (DST) to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) over this weekend, setting your alarm for Sunday 29 October will mean taking away one hour from yourself as BST takes over from DST – often known as “The Stolen Hour.”
BST has been used for 109 years since being proposed by builder William Willett (great-great-grandfather of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin). His pamphlet titled ‘The Waste of Daylight’ suggested moving clocks forward during summer hours and back again during winter days to make better use of daylight hours. At first it was widely discredited, however its implementation became more attractive when Germany introduced DST during World War 1 to keep factories open longer while conserving coal supplies.
During World War II, Britain utilized Double British Summer Time; changing clocks two hours during summer months and one in winter months in order to increase production in factories making munitions. This temporary measure continued until 1968 when Harold Wilson’s Labour Government introduced permanent BST. Due to Northerners complaining that this experiment left them getting up early for work in pitch darkness, it was abandoned only one year later.
Today, BST takes effect from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October and 70 countries still use DST, including New Zealand, Paraguay, all 27 EU nations and most states in America (though not Hawaii or Arizona).
Why do we change the clocks? One convincing argument is to save energy; by making better use of extra daylight for activities rather than artificial lighting or switching on lights as often, energy bills may drop by up to five percent. Daylight saving also reduces crime – people may be out and about more in evening hours and therefore less likely to be mugged or attacked in low light conditions.
Shepherd Master Clock
Charles Shepherd from 53 Leadenhall Street unveiled a master clock system at the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park in 1851 that featured a central’master’ clock sending regular electrical impulses outward to numerous sympathetic clocks. George Airy, Astronomer Royal was so taken with this innovation that he ordered it be installed at Greenwich Royal Observatory as soon as possible; thus becoming the world’s first clock to show Greenwich Mean Time all year round.
This clock features 24 hours on its dial rather than the more commonly-known 12. Midday is marked by its position below, rather than above, to facilitate accurate transmission of time signals over long distances via telegraph. Formerly known as Gate Clock, this timepiece was later rechristened in honor of British astronomer Sir John Herschel.
At its time of construction, this electric clock was considered one of the world’s most sophisticated machines. It could be controlled remotely and synced up with other clocks across long distances via telegraph; furthermore it displayed date and time in multiple languages.
Letterhead of this company indicates this fact, reading as follows: Clock Makers for the General Post Office & Custom House; London Electric Clock Manufacturers to the Indian Government and Royal Observatory. Additionally, the clock was a prototype lantern clock; this type of clock resembles an ordinary clock but features special construction that enables it to carry a lantern for lighting on its face; such a clock may also be found useful in applications involving astronomy or railroads.
Shepherd left England after working for several years in India and possibly making electric clocks for Indian telegraph lines; possibly even purchasing the molds from Alexander Bain who invented similar clocks as part of his bankruptcy estate. Although much is known about Shepherd’s life in India, little can be said of what occurred post-return to England. He continued making clocks for India’s telegraph lines, possibly purchasing molds for them from Alexander Bain’s estate bankruptcy estate who also invented similar devices.
Time Zones
Before the railways, each town established its own local time. This caused havoc between trains having to run to meet each other and people missing connections. A meeting of experts from around the world in 1848 decided to standardise times; an international date line was drawn at Greenwich (also commonly referred to as the Prime Meridian).
At present, Earth is divided into 24 time zones based on longitude lines running from North Pole to South Pole – or meridians – and which connect time zones together. While these meridians tend to follow geographic features rather than being straight lines like many clocks do so they may curve around countries as necessary to adapt for our not so flat planet.
The United Kingdom boasts one of the world’s most unusual time zones, as a relatively small nation it covers three distinct time zones – during winter it falls under GMT + 1 or UTC+0 while summer brings GMT+ 2 or BST timezones.
As opposed to many countries around the world, Britain does not observe Daylight Saving Time. Because of Britain’s northern location and limited sunlight supply, however, darkness sets in earlier than expected during winter months in Britain compared with Western Europe.
England changes to GMT on the final Sunday in March and back to BST again on the last Sunday in October; other parts of Europe operate all year on CET time zones.
As Daylight Saving Time (DST) approaches, it has become common practice to simply swap out “standard” for “daylight”. For instance, Central European Time changes to CEST when its schedule shifts forward by one hour; smaller countries like Australia and USA often divide into multiple time zones while larger nations such as United Kingdom and France often keep to one time zone even though their borders cross meridians.
Be mindful of time zones while traveling abroad. Carry a travel clock to check local times before departing each city. Furthermore, learn more about the history and cultures influencing each time zone.