https://eehe.org.uk/72742/ruth-belville-she-sold-time/ Skip to content Epsom & Ewell History Explorer EPSOM & EWELL HISTORY EXPLORER Menu * Home * Categories + Art + Family History + Health + Nature + People + Places + Society + Sources + Technology + Trade + Transport + War * About Us * What's New * Contact * Donate * [ ] Ruth Belville - She Sold Time! [BelvilleWatch-ClockmakersMuseum-640x632]The very accurate watch, made by John Arnold in 1790s Image courtesy of Worshipful Company of Clockmakers When the sun is at its highest in the sky we call it midday or noon but the earth spins on a slightly inclined axis so the point closest to the sun is constantly changing. This change means that a person in London will have their midday at a different time to a person in New York and that will be different to a person in Beijing Until the early 1800s most people stayed in their local neighbourhood so their clocks were set to the local midday and the relative difference in time had little significance. This changed with the invention of railways. If the train driver was using London time, but the passenger Penzance time the passenger could miss their train. Additionally as there were numerous trains on the system, possibly run by different companies, several railways accidents occurred due to the confusion over which time was being used. So the railway companies introduced the concept of standard or Railway Time. Here all the timetables and station clocks used the local mean time for London set by the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. This eventually lead to Greenwich Mean Time becoming the standard throughout the country. In 1833 James Pond, the Astronomer Royal, introduced the Greenwich Time Ball. At 12.55pm, the time ball rises half way up its mast. At 12.58pm it rises all the way to the top. At 1pm exactly, the ball falls, and so provides a signal to the ships in the river, and anyone looking could set their watches to the right time. [Royal_Greenwich_Observatory_Ball-427x640]The Time Ball at the Royal Observatory Greenwich Photo By Dietmar Rabich via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) But by 1836 Pond was fed up with people, who didn't see the ball drop, interrupting his work by knocking at the door and asking what the time was. Most of the interruptions came from London chronometer/watch/clock makers so he decided to set up a subscription service. The person he put in charge of it, and calibrating of the Government chronometers, was one of his assistants, who was also his ward, John Henry Belville (1794-1856). To cut a long story short Belville was given a very accurate watch, made by John Arnold in 1790s, and he or one of his deputies took the watch round each week to approximately 200 subscribers, mainly chronometer makers, in London. In the same year a 24 hour clock was installed at the gates. [640px-Greenwich-Observatory-Clock-c]The Greenwich Observatory Clock c.1870 Image Source Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) Alexander Bains invented his electric clock in 1840 and by 1852 an electric clock had been installed at the Observatory. Using another of Bains inventions, the Telegraph Clock, the Observatory's electric clock became central to the distribution of time signals throughout the world. It also meant that the ball operation could be automated and the gate clock regulated. These developments may have been expected to see the end of the the manual (watch) distribution method but there was still a good demand for the manual system so till his death in 1856 Belville pushed for it to be continued. After his death John's third wife Maria Elizabeth (nee Last) (1811-99), a teacher by profession, was denied a widow's pension so lobbied to take over the manual distribution to provide an income for herself and their baby daughter Elizabeth Ruth Naomi Belville (known as Ruth). This lobbying was successful and till she retired in 1892, at age 81, Maria took the watch and walked round London to remaining subscribers. [MariaBelvilleDailyGraphic31Oct1892-432x640] Maria Belville Image source: The Daily Graphic 31 Oct 1892 Elizabeth Ruth Naomi Belville [RuthBelville-DailyExpress10Mar1908-474x640]Ruth Belville at the Royal Greenwich Observatory Clock Image Source Daily Express 10 March 1908 via Wikimedia Ruth Belville then took over Maria's business which she ran from 1892 until 1940 when she retired aged of 86. In 1892 Ruth was 38 and living with her mother in Charlton. Over the next few years she moved several time but stayed in the neighborhood till 1907 when she moved to Maidenhead. In 1908 Ruth described her routine which involved going to Greenwich once a week by 9am to check the chronometer then visiting, at least once every two weeks, some forty customers in the London area. [RuthBelvilleTheTatler18Mar1908-345x640]Ruth Belville pictured with her dog. Image Source: The Tatler 18 March 1908 Around 1911 she moved to Ewell Cottage, London Road, Ewell. This cottage was close to the Organ Inn pub where she lived for around 20 years. [EwellOrganInnLondonRoad-300x200]The Original Organ Inn (Date not known but pre 1930s) Image courtesy the Linda Jackson Collection On 5 November 1914, Ruth's dog (shown above) attacked another dog and its owner. Ruth was summoned to appear at Epsom Police Court and charged with 'keeping a dangerous dog not under proper control'. The court found against Ruth and ordered that the dog be destroyed and Ruth had to pay costs of 32s. 6d. (PS1.62) (Surrey Advertiser 25 November 1914) In the early 1930s Ewell Cottage, nearby pub and some other buildings were pulled down to make room for the duel carriageway of the Ewell bypass and a rebuilt Organ Inn pub. So Ruth was forced to move, for the last time to 57 Plough Lane in Beddington. She retired in 1940 and died aged 89 0n 6/7 December 1943. [RuthBelville] Ruth Belville with the 'time-keeper' of the South Metropolitan Gas Company who is checking the time from Arnold in her right hand. The photo dates from 1929 when Belville was 75 years old. Source Not Known During her life time there were were many technological advances such as the telephone Speaking Clock (introduced in the UK on 24 July 1936) but many of her clients stayed loyal to Ruth till she retired. I don't know if they just liked the personal touch or that her her service cheaper that some of the alternatives but I feel she was a remarkable character. Peter Reed 2022 With thanks to Clive Vaisey for suggesting this article. Further Reading: Ruth Belville The Greenwich Time Lady. David Rooney, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, 2008 Author Peter Reed Categories Miscellaneous, Technology, Trade Related Articles Hunt, George Henry Two Market Place surprises What was "Copyhold"? 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