City and town history

I think I may have asked this question before on blip. I wonder why these wonderful old clocks exist? They all seem to have been put up by either jewellers or financial institutions such as banks or insurance companies. Presumably they date from the 1930s onwards - I'm not sure. 

What I do know is that they are absolutely beautiful. 

Weather: cloudy; pleasant; t-shirt weather; 16 degrees c