Leeds Then and Today: Grand Arcade Potts Clock

Have you ever seen or heard the animated clock in the Grand Arcade? Andy Hutchinson spends some time going back in time to talk time!

Transcript

00:00It's time again for another edition of Leeds Then and Today with me, Andrew Hutchinson.

00:04And on the topic of time, have you ever noticed this in Leeds Grand Arcade?

00:09This is a pots clock. It chimes on the hour. Have a listen.

00:22If you keep your eyes and ears open, you'll know that this isn't the only pots clock in Leeds.

00:26In fact, they're on cathedrals, schools, town halls and as far afield as the Shetland Islands and Australia.

00:33But who were the pots?

00:35The story of pots clocks covers five generations of clock connoisseurs,

00:39dating back to 1790 when Robert Potts was apprenticed to a Darlington clockmaker before moving to Keighley.

00:46His third son, William, followed in his father's footsteps and eventually operated William Potts and Sons.

00:52The business moved to Leeds in 1862 onto Guildford Street, which is now the head row.

00:57Believe it or not, this proverb is not the original.

01:01It was changed in the 1960s from,

01:04Come what may, time and the hour runs through the roughest day.

01:09A quotation from Macbeth by William Shakespeare.

01:12The Grand Arcade clock was built in 1898 but fell into disrepair during the 1980s.

01:18It was revived in 2013, but today the characters no longer animate.

01:23But here's a clip of them in action a decade or so ago.

01:49It says time and tide wait for no man and sadly that's the case in this instance as we've run out of time.

01:56So for now, goodbye and see you next time.