GENTS Master clock System for the County Council
 

I recently acquired a few Gents clock items but one item that I find most interesting is what appears to be a wiring diagram for a fairly complex clock and bell system for the County Council building in The West Riding Of Yorkshire.

I assume it’s a copy and the original retained by Gents .
It appears to have impulse clocks of 1second , 30seconds and a bell system.
I also have instruction sheets for the C69 programer. The programer according to the diagram supplied 26 bells and 26 sirens.
I thought I would post a few pictures in the unlikely chance someone would be familiar with this building or know more about these diagrams . I assume they were common for most installations but I doubt many survive.
The diagram is faded so I photographed it in black and white. Andy

Re: GENTS Master clock System for the County Council
 

I know little about it but the former West Riding County Hall is in Wakefield. The attached photo might jog someone's memory.

Alan

Re: GENTS Master clock System for the County Council
 

Very interesting, I'm glad you've preserved the diagram.

Andy

Re: GENTS Master clock System for the County Council
 

Do the documents actually specify the building to which they relate? Adminstratively speaking the council would have had overarching responsibility for a wide variety of civic buildings across the West Riding.

Alan

Re: GENTS Master clock System for the County Council
 

Alan that’s a good point,it could be for another building. There is no indication on the drawing that it is for another building.
The photo you posted looks an impressive building but at the same time someone has written 26 bells , 26 sirens on the drawing. I would think it strange to have two different types of sounder so maybe it should say one or the other? sounds a lot unless the building was massive. Andy

Re: GENTS Master clock System for the County Council
 

Wakefield is a small city despite having the regional administration as was. All gone now of course. More likely would be Leeds town hall, or less likely Bradford.

Re: GENTS Master clock System for the County Council
 

A school is more likely to have lots of bells?

Andy

Re: GENTS Master clock System for the County Council
 

A school would be my best guess too whereby the bells would have been used to signal routine lesson changeovers and the sirens emergency evacuation.

Here's another shot of the County Hall illustrating what an impressive and large building it is. Opened in 1898 and refurbished in 1991 it is now primarily an events venue for conferences, weddings etc.

Alan

Re: GENTS Master clock System for the County Council
 

In 1963, when these documents were drawn up, Wakefield was still the administrative centre of the West Riding. In 1974 it became the administrative hub for the so called County of West Yorkshire and continued as such until the introduction of unitary authorities in 1986. West Yorkshire now consists of five independent authorities which are Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, Calderdale (Halifax) and Kirklees (Huddersfield) each with their own impressive array of civic buildings.

Well off topic I know but hope it will be of some interest.

Alan

Re: GENTS Master clock System for the County Council
 

It looks like some of the dials have seconds hands, this would require a second pulse.

Re: GENTS Master clock System for the County Council
 

The original post says that the system has some 1 second clocks. Many Gents master clocks were fitted with a set of one-second contacts, operated directly by the pendulum, I have a couple.
It would be good to see a better hi-res copy of the diagram if possible.

Andy

Re: GENTS Master clock System for the County Council
 

Thanks for your thoughts on this .
I don’t have a better way of showing pictures but I got a couple close ups.Again changed to black and white .
The master clock does have the extra 1sec contacts . It then feeds a polarity change realy to supply the 1sec clocks . Andy

Re: GENTS Master clock System for the County Council
 

Nice to have the diagrams, they refer to the later C400a slave movements which require an alternate polarity impulse, the earlier seconds models were the normal ratchet and pawl arrangement which was very noisy in operation.
I remember back in the 80s the Southampton Institute of Higher Education had a combined Gent system with some classrooms being fitted with two clocks, one on the 30sec circuit and one on the 1sec circuit, never really knew why?
The master clock was in the foyer and fascinated me back in the day, who knew I would own such things during the following decades. I would imagine the system in SIOHE is long gone now.
Rob