England was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, pioneering steam-powered production factories across Europe while contributing to Enlightenment ideals through philosophical and scientific work.
William Willett of England first proposed daylight saving time in 1908. In his pamphlet called The Waste of Daylight he advocated moving clocks ahead one hour in springtime and back one hour come autumntime.
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT for short), is the world’s standard clock time and named after the Royal Observatory in Greenwich in London’s neighborhood of Greenwich which sits astride the Prime Meridian which serves as longitude zero and defines all time zones globally. Astronomically speaking, this landmark is considered to be at the core of existence.
GMT has its roots in the 17th century when King Charles II directed that a time reference be established at his royal observatory in Greenwich. This was done to facilitate naval navigation around the globe by giving navigators access to standard clocks that could compute their position around Earth. These clocks were adjusted so as to be synced up with daily movement of the sun across the sky as an accurate time indicator; its popularity quickly spread among navies who began using GMT as an industry standard for measuring positions at sea.
Railways soon began using this system as well, and by mid-19th century GMT had become the international time standard. Finally in 1884 was an all-encompassing time standard agreed upon based on GMT; that year also marked the definition of time zones worldwide based on GMT as their base timezones.
Greenwich Mean Time has now been converted to Coordinated Universal Time – or UTC for short. While astronomers still refer to Greenwich Mean Astronomical Time as their reference time, which starts at noon at the Prime Meridian as civil time does, GMT now operates more as a clock-based system than as an astronomical one.
The United Kingdom currently belongs to Western European Time Zone and follows EU Daylight Saving rules, meaning during summer it moves ahead by one hour from GMT (or UTC+01:00), prompting many people to wear watches with GMT designation rather than local time display. If you’re interested in owning one yourself, Shepherd Gate 45cm model from Royal Observatory’s Master Clock features an analogue 24-hour face that makes an impressive addition.
Daylight Saving Time (DST)
Daylight Saving Time (DST) occurs twice annually when clocks are advanced one hour in spring and back again an hour in autumn, creating more daylight at the end of each day and decreasing lighting consumption – an action often used as an energy cost savings measure in summer months while providing health and well-being benefits as well.
George Hudson first proposed DST as an economic measure during 1895 while working in shift work and collecting insects; his passion led him to appreciate after-hours daylight as an invaluable commodity. While Hudson campaigned for DST to become law in New Zealand, his vision became widespread thanks to American builder and horse rider William Willett who wrote an explanation pamphlet in 1907 outlining its benefits; later campaigning for clocks being advanced during summer months but brought back forward again come autumn – the practice we now know as BST or DST. UK government adopted DST during World War 1, intending to maximise available sunlight while simultaneously decreasing coal consumption by households – saving them precious economic resources as well.
During World War 1, people were advised to move their clocks manually rather than use switches, since turning back an hour could damage its mechanism. In 1916, the Summer Time Act was passed requiring that clocks advance by one hour during summer months before returning to standard time in autumn; during World War 2 military purposes saw this extended to two hours advance/reverse clock time adjustments.
Today’s clock changes typically occur around midnight on weekends to minimize disruption to workday schedules and keep trading times consistent with European counterparts. Businesses also find this arrangement more advantageous. Meanwhile, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents supports discontinuing DST, believing it increases road accident risks during darker autumn and winter evening driving conditions.
The Scottish National Party has also led an aggressive push for DST’s repeal, arguing that its benefits disproportionately benefit England and Wales while Scotland remains in darkness.
The Shepherd Master Clock
Undoubtedly one of the greatest clocks ever created is London’s Royal Greenwich Observatory’s Shepherd Gate Clock – unarguably one of the greatest horological monuments ever constructed and an integral component of standardising Britain’s time system and remains a popular tourist attraction today.
Charles Shepherd Sr and Astronomer Royal George Airy played a significant role in erecting the clock in 1852 through their pioneering efforts, thanks to Charles Shepherd Sr and Astronomer Royal George Airy’s realization of a need for a uniform time standard in response to railway transportation development – at that time people followed local time which varied up to half an hour between East and West across Britain, forcing travellers to adjust their watches when travelling between different regions.
Shepherd Master Clock employed what was then an innovative new technology known as galvanism (now more commonly referred to as electric motor clocks), using electric pulses to connect slave clocks throughout the country and enable uniform national time transmission via telegraph and enable people and businesses to synchronize their clocks with Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
Film footage of this clock demonstrates its mechanism. A series of metal cogs connect to a disc that displays Roman numerals to display current time, while keeping with tradition by showing IIII rather than IV; although this could simply be due to large number 4 often appearing as one large number and so any change would look odd.
Additionally, there is a tourist display on the wall of the building which provides details about its history and significance of synchronised timekeeping. Shepherd Gate Clock was the first public display of Greenwich Mean Time and serves as an emblematic representation of Britain’s “horological legacy”.
This film about clocks is both captivating and informative; well worth watching. Note that although this information was evaluated in 2015, further sources have since come to light which provide greater levels of detail about electrical clock systems created by the Shepherd family in the mid-1880s and their significance to society at large.
Local Time
England currently follows Greenwich Mean Time +0 and its next time change will occur on Sunday, October 27. Clocks will advance 1:00 hour at 01:00 local time before falling back 1:00 hour at 02:00; this period is known as British Summer Time (DST).
The United Kingdom’s time zone is defined by its relative location to Greenwich and the Prime Meridian, which runs through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. Here was housed one of the original international standard clocks that would later be sent around via telegraph wire to other cities around the globe for timekeeping, navigation and science standards to be met worldwide. UTC+0 offset applies in the UK while other countries may vary accordingly; regional time differences might include UTC+2.
Royal Observatory stands as an impressive historical and architectural landmark, boasting one of the finest glass domes in Europe. Nowadays, it hosts several important exhibits as well as public tours for free.
Prior to 2017, visitors in central London could easily check the time in England simply by looking up at Elizabeth Tower, home to Big Ben clock. Unfortunately, until 2021 Big Ben will remain silent while its bells undergo repairs; however, special occasions will still see it chime on Remembrance Day and New Year’s Eve to mark special events.
If you have an appointment or call with someone in the UK, use this handy online tool to quickly calculate time differences between locations. Simply choose your timezone and date of interest before typing in your times – then click “Compare”! Your results are ready!