Leyland Motors Clock at Kendal Brewery Arts Centre

From a time when motorways were a dream and drivers could read the time from a clock at the side of the road comes the Kendal Leyland clock.

Leyland Clock

Originally sited on the A6 at Shap the clock was moved to the Kendal Brewery Arts Centre in 1973.

Confusion exists as to how many of these clocks were installed at various locations around the UK.

Some reports indicate 11 being installed and some indicate only seven or five.

Leyland Clocks were located at prominent positions on major UK roads in the 1930s by Leyland Motors Limited. 

The towers were designed by Franco Reflex Signs of London and the mechanism by William Potts and Sons Limited, clockmakers of Leeds.

The location was chosen to mark the half-way point between Lands End and John O’Groats.

Lenore Knowles recalls the harsh winters of many years before and tells the story of her family’s role as keepers of the Leyland clock – a former landmark on the A6 north of Kendal. The Jungle Café was a popular transport café on this stretch of the A6.  Hear her memories here.

The outer shell of the clock was removed and preserved in the 1970s. But the clock’s innards were only found after an appeal by local enthusiasts.

A £2,500 restoration project was funded by Cumbria Steam and Vintage Vehicle Society after an appeal by local vintage vehicle enthusiast Tim Holt.

The clock now has pride of place at Kendal’s Brewery Arts Centre.

A retired GP from Carlisle discovered the missing workings of the clock in items left to him by a former patient 20 years ago.

Leyland Clock - About

At the foot of the clock’s stand is a slate plaque explaining it all.

Other Leyland clock locations include

In England:

• On the top of Shap
• halfway between Catterick and Boroughbridge
• The Bath Road, 3 mile E of Calne
• the London Basingstoke road, 39 miles from London, 7 from Basingstoke
• the Great North Road, 70 miles from London.
• close to the Shack Café on the A30 at Hook in Hampshire
• Here is a photograph of the one situated on a roundabout in Leyland

Update – Oct ‘08

The Cumberland News is reporting that the clock is undergoing further restoration.

The work is being carried out by volunteers from Cumbria Steam & Vintage Vehicle Society.

‘It is the latest move in a £2,500 restoration funded by the society, which will see the monument fit for another 75 years’ service’  the article goes on to say.

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