Why it’s hard to tell the time of day in Ripon

Do people who live in Ripon know the time of day? Not if they have to rely on two civic timepieces that have been serving the city for decades.

Ripon City Council leader Andrew Williams reported that the four-faced Victoria jubilee clock at the junction of Palace Road, North Street and Princess Road can be seen up to 22 minutes slow and also running fast from time to time.

He was not attempting a wind up and has asked for the workings of the clock to be looked into.

The Grade II Listed Building was built by the then Municipal Borough of the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1897, to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.

The building passed into the ownership of Harrogate Borough Council with the reorganisation of local government in 1974.

Closer to home for city councillors, the Ripon Town Hall clock also appears in need of some timely maintenance.

By way of research, the Stray Ferret found the Town Hall Clock a good three minutes fast.

Photo of Ripon Town Hall clock

The Town Hall timepiece

Meanwhile at the city’s monumental timepiece, Queen Victoria would not have been amused with her clock a full three minutes slow.

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While the city’s civic clocks perform in erratic fashion, the one at Ripon Cathedral ticks all the boxes, with its quarterly and hourly chimes.

With the hands on the Town Hall and Victoria Clock’s four faces continuing to move in mysterious ways, Ripon’s residents need only look at the tower on the western frontage of the cathedral for the accuracy they seek if they want to arrive on time at work, school and appointments.

Here they will see that the clerical clock is a match for any hand-held digital device.