The woman who sold time

Elizabeth Ruth Naomi Belville (5 March 1854 – 7 December 1943), also known as the Greenwich Time Lady, was a businesswoman from London. She, her mother, Maria Elizabeth, and her father, John Henry, sold people the time. They did this by setting Belville's watch to Greenwich Mean Time, as shown by the Greenwich clock, each day and then "selling" people the time by letting them look at the watch and adjust theirs.


Ruth Belville's father, John Henry Belville (1795–1856), created a service for 200 clients in 1836. Each morning, John Henry went to Greenwich Observatory, where he worked, and set his watch to Greenwich Mean Time. He then set off in his buggy and set the clocks correctly for clients subscribed to the service.

John Henry continued in this service until he died in 1856. His widow, Maria, was granted the privilege of carrying on the work as a means of livelihood and continued the business until her retirement in 1892, when she was in her eighties. Ruth Belville then took over the company. She continued the business until 1940. Belville was in her eighties when she retired. At the age of 86, she was still able to journey about twelve miles from her home and attend at the Observatory by 9 am. She died at the age of 89.