If you are a visitor to Sheffield, or even a jumpy local, you may be taken by surprise if you walk through the city centre at the right time. Since 1874, a siren has sounded by the entrance to HL Brown, a watchmaker and jeweler, every day. Those with a keen eye will see a small metal plate, much like a street sign, reading “1 o’clock time signal,” alongside the siren that alerts all who hear it that it is indeed 1 p.m. Its location above a watchmaker hints at the siren’s…
