Leading councillor calls on return of 1 o'clock siren calling it "part of the soundtrack of Sheffield"
“For the past 150 years, the 1 o’clock siren has been part of the soundtrack of Sheffield”
The councillor who chairs Sheffield’s culture committee is calling for the return of the ‘1 o’clock Time Signal’ that was recently removed from the city centre.
Councillor Ben Miskell recalled first hearing the daily siren, which was previously located at the H. L. Brown jewellers in Barker’s Pool, back in the 1980s when visiting the city with his grandparents.
Now, following the removal of the unique city feature, he’s backed calls for the 150-year-old siren to be returned.
The signal - although not necessarily in the form of a siren - has been a feature of city life since at least 1874, when clocks and watches were less reliable than they are today and when the time they showed could vary by as much as 30 minutes across the country.
H.L Brown’s time signal was linked directly to Greenwich, home to one of the first public time signals - originally intended for ships on the Thames.
The signal was relayed to H.L Brown in Sheffield for the first time by the miracle of the telegraph, so that the company could ensure the clock it used to set customers’ timepieces by was set to Greenwich Mean Time and the people of Sheffield could set their watches.
It was recently removed when H.L Brown was bought by jewellery firm Loupe.
“For the past 150 years, the 1 o’clock siren has been part of the soundtrack of Sheffield,” Coun Miskell said.
“Like it or loathe it, it’s been the backdrop to countless Sheffield stories and generations of people going about their lives. I remember it clearly from coming into town with my gran back in the 1980s.
“It’s really disappointing that the new owners have decided not to continue what is a unique Sheffield tradition. I hope they’ll reconsider. As the custodians of the building that has been home to the siren for more than a century and a half, I’d appeal to them to help keep that tradition alive.
“If they won’t, then we need to come together as a city and find another way to keep this little piece of Sheffield’s history going for future generations.”
Explaining the removal of the Time Signal, a Loupe spokesperson said: “As part of the refurbishment, and after much consideration, the building’s iconic one o’clock siren was carefully removed and gifted to H.L. Brown in recognition of the jeweller’s role in establishing Sheffield’s public time signal tradition in the 19th century.
“We know that the siren holds a special place in the city, having become a familiar daily sound for many, and the decision to remove it was not taken lightly.
“By returning the siren to H.L. Brown, Loupe is proud to honour an important part of the city’s heritage while ensuring this unique piece of Sheffield history remains connected to the business that first made it a cherished part of the city’s identity.”