Silent Sentinels of the City
They stand all over the city. A few still tick on. Some have vanished, leaving empty shells behind. Looked at one way, the public clocks and clock towers of Madras are sad reminders of the passage of time. But they also mark progress – from when time was approximate, to when it became accurate, and from when we needed public sentinels of time to when we now carry them in our hands or on our wrists.
Before the Clock: Bells and Sundials
Long before clocks came, we knew of time. Temples, mosques and churches, with their inflexible routines, tolled bells or called out for prayer. In an age when silence was not a luxury, these could be heard from far away and people timed their schedules accordingly.
Then came the sundials. The San Thome Basilica sundial is perhaps the oldest, claimed to be at least 500 years old. Following this is the one at the Madras Observatory, dating to the 1790s. Far away in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, stands another – a Madras sundial at Christ Church. There are no records of our city gifting it, but it very likely commemorates the consecration of that church by Thomas Dealtry, Bishop of Madras, in the 1850s. Sundials retained their fascination even into the 20th century – the Madras Christian College, Tambaram acquired one, as did the Chinna Pallivasal in Pulicat.
Time and the Sea: Observatories, Time Balls and Guns
Accurate measurement of time became critical when ships began calling. The Madras Observatory was vital for this, but being inland at Nungambakkam, it was difficult for ships to rely on it directly. In the 1850s, a time ball atop Customs House dropped at 1:00 pm, visible to the ships. By 1860, this was corrected to 3:00 am GMT, corresponding to 8 hrs, 20 min, 57.33 sec by the Observatory clock.
In 1863, Norman Pogson, then astronomer of Madras, felt that “smoke by day and flash by night” were better than a ball dropping. He installed five time guns in the city, all electrically connected to the Observatory clock. Four locations remain a mystery, but the fifth – the Fort St George time gun – boomed at 8:00 pm. This was significant, for while India had multiple time zones until 1905, the railways across the country followed only Madras Standard Time.
The First Clocks of Madras
Fort St George had a clock tower overlooking Parade Square as early as 1717. Thereafter, churches bore the earliest clocks in the city. St George’s Cathedral received a clock in 1828, a gift from the East India Company’s Court of Directors. St Andrew’s Kirk, Egmore, installed its clock in 1853, funded by the congregation and installed by Peter Orr of P Orr & Sons. St Mary’s Church too acquired one in the 19th century, again courtesy P Orr & Sons. These church clocks, however, were often deep inside compounds and had limited public utility.
The Rise of Public Clocks
The first true public clocks arrived in 1873: Central Station Clock – a four-faced clock assembled by John Walker of England, with bells from Gillet & Bland, Croydon. At a height of 136 feet, it chimed every 15 minutes and was visible across the city. P Orr & Sons Clock Tower – designed by RF Chisholm, with a three-faced clock connected electrically to the Madras Observatory for accuracy. By 1913, the Ripon Building Clock Tower was added, its clock imported by Oakes & Co. and bells by Gillet & Johnston. It chimed to the tune of Big Ben in Westminster.
Educational Institutions Join the Race
By the 1930s, colleges and schools joined the clock race: Presidency College Clock (1930) – often misdated to 1940, it was designed in-house by Prof HP Waran and was the city’s first electric clock, using mercury contact. Women’s Christian College (1937) and the University of Madras installed imported clocks. Later, in the 1960s, MCC and MCTM School acquired locally made clocks.
Clock Towers of Progress
Madras, unlike many princely states, used clock towers as civic and social statements. The Rao Sahib MC Madurai Pillai Clock (Doveton Clock Tower, 1930s) symbolized the success of a Dalit businessman. Post-Independence, the Corporation built towers at Royapettah, Mint, Thiruvottriyur and Perambur, all in Art Deco style, with clocks supplied by Gani & Sons. Later, socialist-inspired modernist towers appeared at Thiruvanmiyur (1961) and Kathivakkam (1967).
From Modernism to Electronics
The Anna Nagar Roundtana Clock (1970) was the last Corporation-built tower – more ornamental than functional. By the 1980s, the world was shifting rapidly to digital timekeeping. The Tarapore Towers electronic clock on Mount Road, installed in the late 1980s, displayed both time and temperature – a forerunner of multifunctional gadgets.
Fading Echoes of Time
Today, public clocks continue to be built, but mostly as decorative features. Many stop working soon, as maintenance is a challenge and the skilled technicians who once tended them are dwindling. In England, firms like Gillet & Johnston still specialize in repairing turret clocks. Perhaps India needs a similar institution.
Until then, the public clocks and clock towers of Madras will remain as they always were – silent timekeepers, reminding us not just of hours and minutes, but of the passage of history itself.
This article appeared in The Hindu– https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/madras-day-2025-public-clocks-history-chennai/article69919754.ece
My book, Chennai, A Biography can be ordered – https://sriramv.com/2021/12/27/how-to-buy-autographed-copies-of-chennai-a-biography-from-outstation/
