Clockmakers' Company During the sixteenth century, clock making was a relatively new craft, and clock making by native English craftsmen was mostly confined to the production of turret clocks. As production of turret clocks involved working in ferrous (iron based) metal, many early English clockmakers were freemen of the Blacksmiths’ Company, and production of clocks was simply a sideline, not a craft in its own right. Before 1600, virtually all clocks in England were imported from Europe, or made by European craftsmen resident in London. This is because the earliest domestic clocks were a luxury item reserved for royalty and the nobility. These clocks were expensive to produce due to the materials used and the rare skills needed to construct them. In the sixteenth century, the most costly item you could buy as an expression of your wealth was a clock or a watch. As these objects told the time, there was an excuse to frequently look at them. To own a clock was an indicator of your status, good taste and wisdom, and many of England’s nobility and royalty exchanged such items as gifts – Henry VIII is believed to have bought his wife Anne Boleyn a gilt-bronze lantern clock as a wedding present in 1532, currently in the Royal Collection. The trend for domestic clocks and watches was not established until the start of the 17th century, but by 1622 the clock making industry was taking off, and clockmakers began to see themselves as distinct craftsmen, much to the distaste of the Blacksmiths who believed themselves to be the rightful repository of the clock making. From 1622 a group of clockmakers embarked on a campaign of petitions to protest against those ‘outsiders’ who had set up shop in London as they saw them as a threat to the native market. It was not until 1629 that they gained enough credibility to petition the Crown for an independent Company and in 1631 a Charter was granted by King Charles I. This Royal Charter is important as it gave the Clockmakers control over their trade in London and a ten-mile radius outside the city. The Charter also established a governing body, known as the Court, which comprised of a Master, three Wardens and ten or more Assistants who would be responsible for regulating the trade and supervising the quality of workmanship. The first appointed master of the Company was the Scottish clockmaker David Ramsay, who was Chief clockmaker to King James I of England. The newly formed Company had control over all aspects of clock making in London, including the number of apprentices that clockmakers were allowed to employ, and the quality of goods manufactured. It even had the power to exact financial contributions from its members. Admission into the Clockmakers’ Company was a status symbol and seen as an indicator of an individual craftsman’s capabilities. However, the Company’s administration got off to a bit of a shaky start and resentment soon grew between members and a select group of clockmakers. These included Edward East, Simon Bartram and Robert Grinkin, who continually controlled the Company by rotating offices amongst themselves. In 1656 a group of members, including Ahasuerus Fromanteel petitioned the Company on the grounds of maladministration. In the years immediately following the formation of the Company, it was not mandatory for all clock and watchmakers in London to become Freemen. In fact, many were still members of other trade guilds and owed their allegiance to them. While the quality of their work was still regulated by the Company, it was a considerable loss of revenue and in 1765 the Clockmakers procured an Act of Common Council which required all those craftsmen manufacturing clocks and watches to take the freedom of the Clockmakers’ Company. Image Credit: WCC122186 Ms 6430 The Clockmakers' Charter, granted by King Charles I on 22nd August 1631 (vellum) by English School, (17th century); The Worshipful Company of Clockmakers' Collection, UK; (add.info.: the company paid 4 pounds to Mr John Chappell in 1634 for this charter's 'flourishing and finishing';); © Worshipful Company of Clockmakers / Bridgeman Images
