Serving the community since 1980

 

Home

The Museum

How to find us

Contact Us

Education service

Exhibits

Exhibitions

Our staff

News

Accreditation

Lottery grant

Salt ship

Museum Shop

~ Christmas cards

Links

o

Community . . .

  Events

  Support

(donations/gifts)

o

Hire a room

Join our Trust

Museum Trust

Newsletter

Volunteers

Comments

Wheelchair

  access

 

Acquisitions            

25th Anniversary

Archaeological

 finds  (Roman road) 

Battle of Nantwich

Cheese Room     

Dorothy Bradford

James Hall

Millennium clock

Nantwich clocks

Paintings

~ H. St John Jones

~ Perdita

Postcards

Photographs

Richard Illidge

VJ Day memories

 

 

[Books and videos - see Museum Shop]

 

  Nantwich clocks

by Andrew Lamberton

ALTHOUGH Nantwich is noted for its salt, leather and clothing trades, it is not generally appreciated that the town was an important centre for clockmaking.

   The museum has catalogued as many Nantwich-made clocks as possible. Photographs have been taken of each clock and a description has been included.  The catalogue consists of a number of easy-to-use folders, with clocks listed under makers in chronological order.

   The longcase clocks start with Thomas Talbot who was producing high quality eight-day movements around 1700, progressing through the well-known Gabriel Smith soon after, to John Naylor with his famous astronomical clock. Gabriel Smith started clockmaking at Barthomley, near Nantwich.

   Other makers of note include James Green, Thomas Birchall and John Stanyer - who appears to have been the most prolific of all, judging by the number of clocks located (22).

   All these makers produced brass dial clocks with fine engraving. Around 1773, painted dials started to appear and eventually replace the brass dial and there are several examples of brass and painted dial clocks by the same maker.

   Later makers of some note include Joseph Walker, William Massey, William Palin and James Topham (one of whose clocks is pictured).

   It is very pleasing to record that the industry is still alive in and around Nantwich. About 1975, John Craven made five clocks including one regulator, and more recently Peter Matravers produced three, and Geoff Gray 14. At present there are three local makers and their clocks are recorded and catalogued in the modern section. 

   Altogether more than 140 clocks have been located and catalogued.

   Nantwich clocks were covered in some detail in a catalogue for a previous exhibition at the museum, "Nantwich Clockmakers" by A.A.Treherne, published in 1985. More than 100 names were listed together with biographies where appropriate. Unfortunately, copies of the booklet are no longer on sale.

 

Back to What to See in the Museum | See a different Nantwich Clock

 

Contact Andrew Lamberton on andrew.lamberton@nantwichmuseum.org.uk