Kendal's Time Guns - 1873-1940

In this special article, local historian Arthur R. Nicholls tells how the daily time signal was given and outlines the intriguing story of Kendal's Time Guns.

KENDAL'S TIME GUNS 1873 - 1940

BOOM ! If you were a working man in the 1870s that would have been a welcome sound as it marked the time to stop work for the mid-day snap!

Have you ever wondered why town halls, almost without exception, have a clock?

Very few working men had watches - they cost a king's ransom. The clock on the town hall was the arbiter of time. Before the coming of the railways and, later, the introduction of Greenwich Mean Time, our town hall clock marked KENDAL TIME and, incidentally, the clock on the Moot Hall (the old Town Hall) was most unreliable. Little wonder then that, when the new town hall clock was installed, the old clock was given to the then new St. Thomas's Church. Perhaps the Corporation thought that God, who controlled time, would put the clock right there! A number of towns marked a specific time of day- usually noon or 1 pm - by the sounding of a gun. Edinburgh is a notable example where the mid-day gun can be heard from the heights of the Castle all over the city.

This is how Kendal came to have a Time Gun.

T. & E. Rhodes, clockmakers and jewellers of 19 Highgate, were originally in charge of official time in Kendal before that responsibility was taken over by the General Post Office. Then, Edward Rhodes used to go each Monday at 10 am to the Post Office (under the Town Hall, in Lowther Street) to obtain standard time for the purpose of adjusting the town clock. One morning in 1872 there was such a crowd waiting there and it was getting perilously near to 10 o'clock. There was no-one available to give him the required information that he went behind the counter to look at the clock in the office. An almighty row broke out with the son of the postmaster, Mr. Dixon, a boy of occasionally eccentric behaviour, and Edward strode out in high dudgeon at his treatment. He took up the matter with the local M.P. and the upshot was the suggestion that Kendal should have a Time Gun.

In its issue of 25 January 1873 the Westmorland Gazette informed its readers that the Kendal Fell Trustees had offered a site for the Gun free of charge and that it would be maintained and worked permanently at the expense of the Corporation. The Post Office had approved the site and were preparing costings for the erection and fitting of a telegraph line from Rhodes' shop to the Gun to "establish a direct and instantaneous communication along the Greenwich Meridian. At the moment the sun crosses it Electricity will be started into action and the Time Gun will boom across the face of the town, proclaiming to the mills, factories and workshops that feeding time has come."

Having done his journalistic duty, the editor criticised the whole idea of a Time Gun saying that it would be a wonderful achievement if it could be accomplished but would be of no benefit to the town.

"Is it worth the cost," he wrote, "in a district where common people have the traditional idea that it is right and proper to have their timepieces an hour or more fast? Although our town clock is frequently five minutes slow or fast, we can check the time with railway time at the station. Mr. Wakefield will give the gunpowder, the government will give the gun and the Kendal Fell Trustees the site. If the Corporation have surplus funds they had better be used to remedy admitted nuisances in the town such as substituting the common privies on Fell Side with proper water closets."

The Mayor was enthusiastic and carried the Borough Council with him. He informed the members that the War Office had agreed to lend the Corporation a gun on condition that he would give an understanding that he would have it suitably placed and cared for. The Council Resolved; "That the Mayor give the required undertaking on the assurance that it would entail no expence on the Corporation or Ratepayers of the Borough."

There was some discussion about the precise time for the Gun to be fired, both noon and 1 o'clock being favoured. 'A Townsman' writing to the Westmorland Gazette even suggested that 10 o'clock would be preferable to noon as firing at that time would cost less, though he gave no clue to his (questionable) thinking. Eventually, the time of 1 pm was agreed, possibly because that was the general time for the workmen's dinner break in most of the mills, factories and workshops of the town.

To begin with, the Gun was fired directly from Greenwich Observatory through a mechanical contrivance attached to a clock at the Gun connected to the Observatory by a telegraph wire but it was, in time, discovered that the cost of this was too high and inconvenient as the line had to be cleared for the purpose some minutes before 1 o'clock. In accordance with the resolution of the Council, the Gun was maintained entirely by public subscription and at no charge to the ratepayers. It cost initially up to £65.0s.0d. a year and the owners of the mills, factories and shops were apparently glad to pay for the service.

The gun arrived in Kendal during the third week of May. The Westmorland Gazette said, "With it we should like to hear a record of its historical associations - how many men it is computed to have slain, where it was manufactured, where it was used in battle, where it was captured, how long it has been in stock at Woolwich Arsenal, why it has not been sold and converted into cash as old metal. These and other particulars would be interesting and at the inaugural ceremony would supply a keynote to the persons elected to conduct the same."

Unfortunately for the Gazette there was nothing romantic about the Gun. It was British made, not a captured one, had no history of great engagements, and no inaugural ceremony was arranged. It was taken to the Serpentine Walks and placed on a pedestal at an elevated position from which it gave its daily time signal. The pedestal was used to store the gunpowder and fuses which were loaded by the caretaker of the Walks, 2 pounds of gunpowder and a fuse being required for each charge. Firing the Gun directly from Greenwich Observatory eventually proved too expensive and inconvenient. Having been responsible for some years for controlling the town clock it was natural that Messrs T. & E. Rhodes should eventually be given the task of operating an electrical switch at their shop to fire the Gun.

There were, naturally, teething troubles. On Thursday 2nd October it failed to go off because the Inspector of Telegraphs had disconnected a wire and forgotten to reconnect it! Then one day orders had been given for it not to be fired for some reason but someone misunderstood and it was set off between 4 and 5 pm, causing much puzzlement among local people who wondered if their clocks had gone wrong, and some dismay to workmen waiting for their dinner signal. In 1874 the gun failed to fire on the Friday before the Whitsuntide holiday and remained silent until the Tuesday, failing again for a few more days. The Westmorland Gazette, with its typical punning wit, said that several "great guns" had joined the excursion train to Morecambe and presumed that the Time Gun had gone with them.

A writer to the Westmorland Gazette commented that, in Edinburgh, if the gun there missed its firing at the due time it was then not fired at all and wondered if the same ruling would apply in Kendal but such an eventuality was not anticipated with Kendal's Gun. Over the years, so reliable was the Gun's message that it was considered infallible by the townsfolk. On one or two occasions in later years the charge was exploded prematurely during a thunderstorm and half the watches and clocks in the town were regarded with great suspicion.

The Gun continued its noisy declaration of 1 o'clock each day but there was a continual problem with raising the money needed to service it and this came to a head regularly. A meeting of subscribers to the Time Gun was held in 11 April 1874, some eight months after the Gun started operation presided over by the Mayor. Among the prominent gentlemen employers from the town present were Mr. Whitwell, MP, Messrs Crewdson, Cropper, Keightley, Wilkinson, S. Rhodes, Nelson, Hargreaves, Severs and E. Rhodes. A statement of the expenses incurred was presented which showed a small balance which was intended to be kept towards repairs. It was announced that of the £65 required for the whole year, £39 had to be paid to the Greenwich Observatory. Gunpowder would cost £16 and about £10 would be spent on fuses, flannel bags, attendance and sundries. There was some discussion regarding reducing the yearly expenses but ultimately it was agreed to continue as at present. Messrs Rhodes pledged that if, for any unforeseen occurrence, the spark was not transmitted from Greenwich on any day they would undertake, by an arrangement of their own, to fire the Gun within one second after 1 o'clock Greenwich time. It was Resolved: "That attempts be made to procure additional subscriptions for the maintenance of the Gun."

During the following years the Town Council discussed the advisability of both the continuance or discontinuance of the Gun and public meetings were held to talk about it. Fortunately for the Gun, these usually ended on a positive note. At a meeting of subscribers on 18 September 1880 the financial statement showed that the Gun cost £10 more than the amount subscribed. A resolution was moved and quickly passed: "Seeing the great advantage of firing the gun at 1 o'clock it is most desirable that it be continued."

Steps were taken at once to liquidate the debt and Messrs Rhodes were thanked for all the trouble they had taken in connection with the firing of the Gun. The caretaker of the Serpentine Walks in 1913, G. Whitwell, stated that the gun was fired TWICE DAILY except on Sundays and bank holidays. It has been said that it was also fired at other times during the week. Some older local residents have said that they "remember" hearing it fire twice a day and other than at 1 o'clock but one might properly discount this as selective memory prompted by questioning and no evidence has arisen to show that it actually was.

A Second Time Gun In March 1882, when the Royal Artillerymen examined the Gun they pronounced it unsafe and unusable, needing to be replaced. The War Office said that they would do so if the Council would pay for the carriage estimated at £20. The Council agreed to cover the cost. A new Gun was drawn by six horses from the railway station in June of that year. In 1888, when this Gun had been fired over 800 times since its last examination, it too was considered unsafe and needed to be revented before it was allowed to be fired again. This was done, costing the Corporation about £4.2s.6d. and the Gun continued its work. At a Town Council meeting on 29 April 1894 the Town Clerk reminded the Council that the Time Gun was under their care and that Messrs Rhodes were responsible for paying the costs. £4.13s.6d. had now been paid for work done the previous year and a further bill for £5.18s.10d.had been received for the examination of the Gun thus more than doubling the previous expense. He sought authority to write to the War Office asking for an explanation of the additional expenditure and why it had been made. Messrs Rhodes made some suggestions about the future examination of the Gun but did not think it would effect any improvement. Cllr. Braithwaite asked by whom the examination of the Gun was made. The Town Clerk said that it was an officer from Woolwich. Formerly the officer came from Carlisle or Chester and the railway fare was much less. The subject was dropped.

It is a truism that you cannot please everyone! In December 1905 there were complaints about the noise of the gun so it was turned to face in the other direction. This pleased those who previously could not hear it but the others declined to pay their subscription as now they couldn't hear it so, in January 1906, William Carradice, a well-known builder from Fellside, was paid £10.5s.6d. to return it to its original position.

At this period things were not going well for the Gun. On 30 January 1906 Messrs Rhodes presented their account for the Time Gun to the Town Council meeting of £21.10s.11d having deducted the £6.1s.0d. which was all that was left from the subscriptions raised. The Borough Surveyor was instructed to improve the report of the Gun, by reducing the charge so that the vibration was reduced, to encourage further subscriptions. He reported that, if the Time Gun were discontinued, it would cost the Corporation £27.11s.11d.

At the Council meeting, Cllr. Abbatt said that he felt that the Gun was now little more than a toy and its continuance should be questioned. When it was established it cost the Corporation only £5 a year and was then considered a public convenience. It was not so today. The Town Clerk said that he had received a letter from J. Smith regretting having to complain again in that until the previous week the alteration to the Gun was all that could be desired. However, in the last few days the concussion was so much stronger that it shook his house. He trusted that the Council would arrange either to reduce the charge or move the Gun to a more suitable place.

The Mayor said that the experiments made by the Property Committee in the past week were of great advantage to the inhabitants of the town in general. Some compromise might possibly be made which would be satisfactory to all parties.

A Resolution was moved by Cllr. Abbatt: "That the Property Committee should consider, in these altered circumstances, if it is worth while continuing the daily discharge of the Gun." This was carried.

On 15 February it was Resolved: "That it is desirable that the firing of the Time Gun be continued and that efforts be made to reduce the vibration by alterations in the charge." On 23 March Messrs Rhodes were paid a subscription by the Corporation of ten guineas as an annual payment for firing the Time Gun.

At the meeting of the Town Council on 29 January 1907 Messrs Rhodes presented their account for one year's cost of firing the Time Gun amounting to £26.12s.11d. stating that they had not been able to obtain any subscriptions as in previous years. It was Resolved: "That the account be paid and the firing of the Time Gun be discontinued for two months from 31 January." This was carried.

At the meeting of the Town Council on 30 July the Property and Pleasure Ground Committee reported that it had considered and recommended the discontinuance of firing the Time Gun, chiefly on the grounds of expense and the difficulty of finding a suitable place for it if it were moved from its present position. There was a lively discussion. Dr. Parker asked why it could not be fired just once a week. Alderman Thompson said that had been done latterly to use up the ammunition. Dr. Parker remarked that it was the only thing in the town to show the correct time and it would be a convenience if it were fired only once a week. Cllr. Watts said that the decision of the Committee was not unanimous. Cllr. Somervell asked if the life of the Gun was nearly up. The Town Clerk said that it was. Cllr. Somervell went on to say that they would have to get a new one if they were to continue firing. The Time Gun is a great boon to the town. We should not lightly consider doing away with it. Kendal is noted for having a Time Gun and it is recognised as a great convenience. It became a nuisance a year or two ago because it was overloaded. It should be loaded less heavily. Alderman Monkhouse suggested that they might get a less gun and proposed that the matter be referred back to the Committee. It was agreed to do that.

In March it was Resolved: "That as there are some cartridges and fuses on hand, the Time Gun is to be fired on Saturdays only until the stock of cartridges and fuses is exhausted."

In April it was agreed that the whole question of the Time Gun was to be reconsidered.

In July it was agreed to discontinue the firing of the Time Gun but not entirely abolish it.

That was not the end of the matter however. There were still strong feelings that the firing of the Gun should be continued in some way. At the Town Council Meeting on 13 September the Property and Pleasure Ground Committee reported the annual cost of the Time Gun:

Gunpowder, fuses, etc. 10. 12. 11Electric current 14. 0. 0.Firing 2. 0. 0.Sundries * 2. 17. 1.

Total £29. 10. 0.

* including encroachment rents for telegraph posts, repairs to the batteries, etc.

Without any alteration in the position of Gun, it was reported, the whole sum was payable out of the General District Fund. To alter the position so that the report could be heard in the Borough generally, the annual subscription of £18 might be expected. The Sub-Committee's opinion was that in whatever direction the Gun was fired from the present site, there would be serious complaints whether for alleged damage or its not being heard. It was Resolved: "That the Borough Surveyor ascertain at what cost either the present or a smaller Gun could be removed and fired from Castle Hill."

A Third Time Gun At the Council meeting on 19 September 1908 the Borough Surveyor reported that the cost of removing the present Gun to Castle Hill, including new foundations, would be about £20. With an additional annual cost of about £11 the total annual cost would be £40.10s.0d. The idea seems to have been dropped.

Enquiries had been made about obtaining a smaller gun and Messrs T. W. Ward Ltd of Sheffield, had agreed to loan the Corporation on approval a small, second-hand gun-metal gun, 2 feet long, conditional on the Corporation paying carriage both ways from Morecambe if it were returned to them, or they would be willing to sell the gun, including its gun-carriage, for £6. The cost of fixing this gun on the foundations would be about £5. The annual cost of firing would be about £34.10s.0d. It was Resolved: "That the Sub-Committee recommend that three months notice be given to the Postal Authorities to discontinue the provision of current to the present Time Gun and to try the smaller gun in the present site."

The small gun was tried out in the Serpentine and the Sub-Committee approved its use as a replacement for the present Time Gun. They also recommended that the War Office be asked to present the old Gun to the town and that it be placed in the Public Pleasure Grounds at Abbot Hall. This was agreed and the Sub-Committee was instructed to continue its work until the old Gun was removed and the new one fired. The order to discontinue the supply of electric current to the Time Gun was countermanded. Messrs Ward were paid the £5 for the new Gun and stand and J. Allen was paid £4.5s.0d. for their carriage. It couldn't have been a particularly good gun at that price, but perhaps the Corporation felt it was a bargain! Work in connection with the removal, replacing and protecting the new Time Gun was completed by February 1908.

The War Office approved the presentation of the now redundant second Gun to the Borough and the Town Clerk was instructed to enquire as to its history. In May it was placed in position on a gravel square on the south-east corner of the Abbot Hall grounds where it proved a popular plaything for boys. The War Office gave the required information about the Gun which was recorded on it and its muzzle hole plugged with wood. It came from HMS Warspite, an 1800-ton third rater of 74 guns, built in Chatham in 1807 and cut down to a Frigate in 1840. The gun had been put into store when the ship was taken out of service. It was an 18-pounder, 9 feet long and weighing 2 tons 2 cwts. Obviously, the War Office had no more use for such an ancient gun - it was by then over a hundred years old and they were probably glad to see the back of it and not have the bother of disposing of it for scrap.

Between 1909 and 1910 money was spent regularly on the Time Gun: 13 January: R. Garnett, repairs, 3s.4d; John Allen, repairs and signs, £4.8s.6d.

30 March: T. & E. Rhodes, subscription, £10.10s.0d.

20 October: Joseph Saint, cartridges, etc, 12s.10d.

25 January: Joseph Saint, cartridges, 12s.6d.

29 March: T. & E. Rhodes, subscription, £15.0s.0d.

31 May: Joseph Saint, cartridges, 8s.9d.

In addition to these payments there were others for cordite but the records give no details.

In 1913 the Borough Surveyor reported that the Time Gun was due for its examination which would cost about two guineas (£2.2s.0d.) In the following January, 1914, the Inspector, Ordnance Machinery, Western Command, at Chester said that an artificer was being sent to examine the Time Gun early in the New Year. He came and, after his inspection, reported that the Gun was unserviceable. The Department proposed to ask the War Office if a suitable replacement gun were available. Rhodes' sent in their account for £18.6s.1d.for one year's maintenance of the Gun and since no subscriptions were now forthcoming it was Resolved: "That the Time Gun be abolished."

This did not meet with the approval of the Kendal Ratepayers Association who wrote to the Council urging the continuance of the Time Gun, saying that they would welcome any suggestions as to how they could assist the Corporation in doing so.

At the Council meeting on 7 April, Cllr. Hoggarth moved: "That the Gun be continued," remarking that the cost of it was £18.6s.1d. He regretted that the Property Committee had proposed its discontinuance especially when it was a great convenience to thousands of people. The great majority of the people of the town were anxious that the Gun should be continued. Most of the original subscribers had died and others had fallen away so the cost now probably fell on the Corporation. Mr. Rhodes had written to say that he could get subscribers if the Corporation did not see its way to give more than ten guineas a year. In seconding the proposition, Cllr. Baron said that it had been decided that the Gun was for the benefit of everyone in Kendal and instead of asking for subscriptions it was the duty of the Corporation to pay for a small matter of that kind. The Time Gun was a time-honoured institution, not only of benefit to the townspeople but also the farmers and people coming into the town. Taking a working man living in an £18 house, the cost would be only about 1d. to 1d. per annum towards the cost. If an appeal were made to nine-tenths of the working men they would put their hands in their pockets for such a sum. Cllr. Hewertson, one of five who had voted for the Gun's abolition said he was now a convert for its retention. It was the best way to own up that the Gun was wanted by the public at large. Cllr. H. Braithwaite said he was one of the strong opponents against the retention of the Gun but since the Committee met he had been tackled by three people on the matter and now he would have to be a convert to the other side as public opinion was very strongly against the Committee. He fiercely criticised those members of the Council who leaked information about its deliberations and decisions. The Resolution was adopted.

The Fourth Time Gun At the Town Council meeting on 5 May, the Pleasure Grounds Committee reported that a letter had been received from the Assistant Director of Ordnance Stores at Chester offering to present to the Corporation a 40-pounder, revolving breech-loader for use as a replacement Time Gun. Wow!! It was a monster! It would have blown out windows left, right and centre and be heard as far away as Lancaster! The Committee Resolved: "That the writer of the letter be thanked for his offer but as the ordinary blank charge of the gun is excessively large, the gun offered is considered unsuitable." The Borough Surveyor was instructed to make further enquiries for a small muzzle-loader. Cllr Pattinson said that he supposed the gun offered was one of the ordnance guns. He asked if there was any way of making it a miniature thing so that it would not take a larger charge? He thought that it would be better and more respectable to have a gun like that in the Serpentine than the pop-gun they had at present. This comment brought forth laughter. Cllr. Hoggarth thought the proffered gun too big altogether. It would take too much powder. It would be better to communicate with one or two firms and get a smaller one similar to the present Time Gun which had seen better days. Cllr. Pattinson rejoined that the one they would get would have seen better days too or they would not get it at a decent price. Cllr. Martindale said they had experienced a good deal of trouble before they managed to get the present Time Gun and it had answered two purposes very well; no pictures had been smashed or other property damaged, and they had fairly loud reports. The Resolution was carried.

During the month of May it was decided to ask Messrs Vickers Son & Maxim Ltd of Barrow if they had a suitable gun. They replied in June that they did not.

Nothing further is recorded about obtaining a new Gun but further enquiries must have been made and it is obvious that a suitable one was found and acquired as mention is made in 1915 and 1916 that Rhodes' expenses were paid by the Corporation, and the Gun was in place for all to see. There is no record of how the third Gun was disposed of. It is possible that the events of World War One (The Great War) were of such import that mundane matters like the Time Gun were passed over. It seems likely that the Time Gun continued to be fired during the years of conflict despite its daily reminder of gunfire on the fields of battle, but there is no record to prove it.

It is somewhat surprising that firing of the Gun was continued throughout the Great War considering the slaughter which affected so many families in the town. Kendal had patriotically given magnificently to the War Savings Association funds. According to Mr. F. W. Crewdson, its contributions amounted to no less than a million pounds which, according to Alderman J. J. Thomas, represented £2.18s.9d per head of population, making Kendal 7th in the league table of subscribers in all Great Britain.

Armistice came and in 1919 a heavy German gun was offered by the War Office to the Corporation for safe care and custody. It does not appear that the offer was taken up. The old Time Gun in the Abbot Hall grounds was joined in 1920 by a gun, captured by the 2nd Border Regiment in the Far East and presented by the Regiment's S.G.M. to go with the "War Trophies" presented by the War Savings Association and was duly marked on a plaque. The guns were rearranged by the Borough Surveyor in a more suitable position.

In September 1923 it was reported that the electric batteries for firing the Gun needed renewal at a cost of about £4 but Rhodes' obtained instead from G.E.C. Ltd a Magneto High Tension Machine which was found satisfactory so the Time Gun could still be fired. In addition to the 1 o'clock firing, the Gun was fired at 11 am on Remembrance Day, 11 November 1927, onwards. This additional firing was continued in 1928 and 1929 and possibly in the following years up to 1939 when the Second World War had broken out and such a firing was inappropriate.

The Town Council meeting on 30 October 1928 discussed the motion: "Should the War Tank on Miller Field and the guns in Abbot Hall grounds at Kendal be scrapped or sold or should they remain to remind the coming generation of the horrors of war?" The fate of the tank had been a long-running question for a number of years but this was the first time that the guns had been brought into it. There was a discussion, the outcome of which was that the motion was lost and the matter dropped. The guns were not mentioned at all during the discussion.

At the meeting of the Property Committee on 13 April 1936 it was announced that, consequent on the death of T. Rhodes, the last of the two brothers, the business had been disposed of so that alternative arrangements had to be found for firing the Time Gun. It seems that the Committee was unsuccessful in its search as at the meeting on 30 April it was resolved to discontinue its firing. However, at the Council meeting on 30 May it was decided to fire the Gun at 1 pm "on three days in the week as hitherto." This came from the report of the Property Committee to the meeting which stated the days to be Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. There is nothing in the records to say when or why firing had been restricted to three days. Monday marked the beginning of the working week and both Wednesday and Saturday were now market days. Did the Time Gun serve no regular purpose any more? We shall never know unless further evidence appears.

The end comes at last In 1940 the Ministry of Supply ordered that all available scrap metal was to be sent for armament manufacture. Accordingly, on 31 May the Council ordered that the old guns in Abbot Hall Park were to be sold as scrap. They had no purpose any more, especially in war-time. They raised £15.14s.0d. which money was transferred to the Lord Mayor of London's Red Cross and St. John Fund. The Gun in Serpentine Woods mysteriously disappeared, leaving the pedestal bare. Local understanding is that it was removed by an individual or individuals from Fellside, and was sold in Morecambe. A suggestion was made in 2006 that a replica Gun be made and mounted on the pedestal but, in view of the cost and the likelihood of vandalism or even destruction, the proposal was dropped. Only the pedestal now remains in the Serpentine Walks as a memorial to the four Kendal Time Guns which served the town faithfully and well for some 66 years.

References: The Westmorland Gazette Kendal Corporation (Town Council) Minute Books (Kendal Record Office Local reminiscences Arthur R. Nicholls, Kendal, March 2007