THEY were built with a simple practical purpose in mind - to allow people to tell the time. But anybody relying on some of Glasgow's public clocks could end up very confused ... because many have stopped.

THEY were built with a simple practical purpose in mind - to allow people to tell the time. But anybody relying on some of Glasgow's public clocks could end up very confused ... because many have stopped.

Now calls are growing to save our clocks - before time runs out.

In the days before wrist watches were common, Town Hall clocks occupied prominent positions in communities across the country.

There was an old-fashioned sense of civic pride in keeping the clocks in perfect working order.

Workers used to painstakingly climb the clock towers - usually once a week - to set the traditional cog mechanism.

But with people increasingly using mobile phones or wrist watches to tell the time, many public clocks have been neglected.

City heritage experts say the main problem is that most public clocks are now in private ownership, with some buildings having multiple owners.

At least five in and around Glasgow city centre were either stopped or showing the wrong time when the Evening Times went out and about:

• The clock on the Cowcaddens Library building - seen by thousands of drivers and Subway commuters each day - has been stopped for several years.

• A clock at the corner of Gordon Street and Union Street - used by many commuters heading to Central Station - had also stopped.

• At the junction of Stockwell Street and Argyle Street, a first-floor clock on a shopping block was showing the wrong time.

• The blue-faced clock on the historic Briggait Steeple, near Paddy's Market, was stopped.

• The four clock faces at St Georges-Tron Church in Nelson Mandela Place were permanently stuck on 12 o'clock - even though the building is undergoing a renovation.

Torsten Haak, director of Glasgow City Heritage Trust, said any scheme to get clocks working would be worthwhile.

He said: "They are usually in very prominent places so people can see them and historically they are very important for the areas they are located in.

CROCKED CLOCKS
Cowcaddens Library	Corner of Gordon Street and Union Street	Junction of Stockwell Street and Argyle Street	Briggait Steeple near Paddy's Market

"It's a shame many of them don't work because they give a sense of place and are important for civic pride.

"If you don't have a watch - and many people don't wear one - it would be good to be able to look up at the tower and get the correct time."

Mr Haak said Prague was an example of a city which had turned its city centre clock, the famous Astronomy Clock, into a major tourist attraction, just like London's Big Ben.

Councillor Catherine McMaster, chairwoman of city council's local history and archaeology group, said: "There are a lot of complexities involved with the ownership of clocks.

"It's one of these things that has fallen off the radar. No-one has said what about this'?

"This is neglect and that default is because no-one has picked up the issue and run with it.

"Not everybody has a watch and it is useful to have public timepieces.

"It is also nice to have prominent public clocks. They are a lovely feature and most are part of wonderful old buildings.

"We need to take this on a case-by-case basis. The clock would have to be seen as a feature of a building and then who is responsible?

"I think it is something that is worth drawing attention to.

"Maybe residents can come together and call for action in their communities to get the clocks working.

"There is always the danger of use it or lose it' and it would be good if they said we want to use it'.

"Every time I look at the Tolbooth I think it's such a beautiful building. If we can save the steeples, surely we can save the clocks too?"