What is the time one hour before midnight?

Explanation

Todays many clocks and watches has not always been around. Once, watches were not a household item. Therefore, people depended on clocks in church towers and other buildings. These were equipped with a striking mechanism which struck hour and quarter strikes. They therefore said, "the bell has rung nine" (nine strokes) or simply "the bell is nine." Today very few people counts the strikes of a bell tower to know what time it is.