A to Z of Leeds: The city's own king of clocks

The Potts clock inside Thornton's Arcade. PIC: Jonathan Gawthorpe

There are many reasons for this bold claim, from the people who've called this place home, to the history of the region, the developments underway and the talent and creativity we see on a daily basis. Here, we go through the alphabet to give you some reasons to be proud.

P IS FOR POTTS CLOCKS

Robert Potts was apprenticed to a Darlington clockmaker in 1790 but his son William founded his business in Pudsey in 1833.

The Potts clock in The Grand Aracde. PIC: Simon Hulme

In 1962 William Potts moved it to Guildford Street to found the Guildford Clock Works and began the mass production of clocks for schools, offices and railways.

Three of William’s sons joined the firm (William Potts & Sons Ltd). It was Robert Potts (1943-1917), his second son, who later became head of the firm. Brothers Tom and Charles both left to set up their own clock businesses.

Many Potts clocks remain in Leeds to this day. One of the most famous is the famous Ivanhoe clock in Thornton’s Arcade.

Changing Leeds - Go down the city centre's arcades of attraction

The fixtures for that clock were made by artist John Wormald Appleyard and the mechanism by Leeds clock manufacturer William Potts & Son.

Potts clocks were installed in cathedrals, churches, town halls, schools, engineering works and railways as far afield as the Shetland Islands, Melbourne, Australia and New Zealand.

MORE A TO Z OF LEEDS:

A: How Arthur Aaron became a war hero .

B: Ivy Benson - Leeds's own pioneer of 'girl power'

C: The curious custom of Leeds Town Hall clock

D: The city landmark made of 18 million bricksE: Briggate's Empire TheatreF: The Farnley Wood Plot

G: The suffragette who valiantly fought for women’s right to voteH: The vicar who helped rebuild Leeds Parish Church

I: The Leeds hotel known as 'The Imp'

J: The city's J.R.R. Tolkein connection

K: The city street boasting 1,000 years of historyL: The 'miserable looking' mangy city centre landmarksM: The city centre department store that fell out of fashionN: The pub visited by highwayman Dick TurpinO: The city's own 'Factory King'

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Laura Collins