Clock on the spire of St Nicholas - geograph

Potts of Leeds was a major British manufacturer of public clocks, based in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, England.

History

Park-keeper's offices and clock tower - geograph

William Potts was born in December 1809 and was apprenticed to Samuel Thompson, a

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

clockmaker A clockmaker is an artisan who makes and/or repairs clocks. Since almost all clocks are now factory-made, most modern clockmakers only repair clocks. Modern clockmakers may be employed by jewellers, antique shops, and places devoted strictly to ...

. In 1833, at the age of 24, William moved to

Pudsey Pudsey is a market town in the City of Leeds, City of Leeds Borough in West Yorkshire, England. It is located midway between Bradford, Bradford city centre and Leeds city centre. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of ...

near Leeds, to set up his own business. Initially the business was primarily concerned with domestic timepieces, however this gradually expanded into the manufacture and repair of public clocks. In 1862 the business moved to Guildford Street, Leeds, and later, a workshop for public clocks opened nearby in Cookridge Street. This heralded the most productive and profitable years of the business with large numbers of public clocks being installed both home and abroad for cathedrals, churches, town halls, schools, engineering works and railways.

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

granted the company a Royal Warrant in 1897. The business was renamed William Potts & Sons Limited as a result of three of William’s sons joining the company, however, after the First World War, two sons started their own clockmaking business, Tom Potts left in 1928 and Charles Potts left in 1930. William Potts & Sons Limited joined the

Smith of Derby Group Founded in 1856, the Smith of Derby Group are clockmakers based in Derby, England. Smith of Derby has been in operation continuously under five generations of the Smith family. History John Smith (21 December 1813 - 1886)

Examples

Potts' clocks were installed in public buildings, churches, railway stations, workplaces and other premises. According to Potts' register, 1,568 new clocks were installed and 54 of them subsequently transferred to new locations by the company. The total included, 363 quarter-chiming clocks and 510 hour-striking clocks. Many were installed at locations in Yorkshire, and Leeds had the most, including examples on

Leeds Town Hall Leeds Town Hall is a 19th-century municipal building on The Headrow (formerly Park Lane), Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Planned to include law courts, a council chamber, offices, a public hall, and a suite of ceremonial rooms, it was built be ...

and

Leeds Corn Exchange The Leeds Corn Exchange is a Victorian building and former corn exchange in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which was completed in 1863. It is a grade I listed building. History The Corn exchange was designed by Cuthbert Brodrick, a Hull arc ...

. The clock on the Pierhead Building at

Cardiff Docks Cardiff Docks ( cy, Dociau Caerdydd) is a port in southern Cardiff, Wales. At its peak, the port was one of the largest dock systems in the world with a total quayage of almost . Once the main port for the export of South Wales coal, the Port ...

was installed in 1897, but was removed and sold in 1973. The mechanism was taken to Alabama, USA and returned to Cardiff in 2005. It was planned to install the Potts clock as a piece of contemporary art, encased in glass, in

Cardiff city centre Cardiff city centre ( cy, Canol Dinas Caerdydd) is the city centre and central business district of Cardiff, Wales. The area is tightly bound by the River Taff to the west, the Civic Centre to the north and railway lines and two railway s ...

. Other clocks were installed further afield,

Lerwick Lerwick (; non, Leirvik; nrn, Larvik) is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010. Centred off the north coast of the Scottish mainland ...

Town Hall's clock was installed in 1887, and one on the Roman Catholic Church Hall in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia dates from 1930. Five clocks were exported to India but their locations are not known, two went to Russia and there is an example on the post office in

Lyttleton, New Zealand Lyttelton (Māori: ''Ōhinehou'') is a port town on the north shore of Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō, at the northwestern end of Banks Peninsula and close to Christchurch, on the eastern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. As a landin ...

. Potts provided the mechanism for a floral clock at

Belle Vue Zoological Gardens Belle Vue Zoological Gardens was a large zoo, amusement park, exhibition hall complex and speedway stadium in Belle Vue, Manchester, England, opened in 1836. The brainchild of John Jennison, the gardens were initially intended to be an entert ...

in 1936.

References

Sources

External links

{{commonscat
Smith of DerbyLeeds Potts Clocks Heritage Trail
Defunct manufacturing companies of the United Kingdom English clockmakers Manufacturing companies based in Leeds Defunct companies based in Leeds Turret clock makers of the United Kingdom 1833 establishments in England