Before we had our own clocks in the home, and later pocket or wrist watches that we could carry with us all the time, what we had were the town or village bells, usually those of the local temple or church. They ritually marked the phases of the day for us. However, the main function of the community bell was not to just mark the passage of hours, but to indicate that these were times for people to carve out small, prayerful spaces in the midst of their day-to-day preoccupations.
The Vietnamese Buddhist teacher, Thich Naht Hanh, known to his followers simply as Thay, which means teacher, popularised the tradition of the 'Mindfulness Bell', that we see used in many places today. In many meditation or retreat centres, and even in homes, you might hear a bell sound and suddenly people around you stop whatever they are doing.
(More) Source: Times of India
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