Curator’s Chronicles The Senior Curator, Dr Kristin Leith, invites you to discover more about her world of horology. I hope you are all enjoying your summer. It’s been a busy six weeks since I last wrote to you in our inaugural Newsletter. I’m pleased to report that we have uploaded a new description of John Harrison’s famous Wooden Regulator Longcase, made in 1726. The new content tells the dramatic story of this homemade, hand-painted clock and how Harrison, one of the greatest and most innovative figures in horological history, developed and realised its ground-breaking design. What is even more impressive is that this clock was created and calibrated in his own home, assisted only by his brother, James. The major breakthrough that Harrison’s Wooden Regulator represents in terms of horological, navigational, and wider scientific development cannot be overstated. When this was made, it became the world’s most accurate clock and remained so for the next 150 years! I’d like to thank Matthew King for his feedback on the new description. His insight and generosity certainly helped me shore up a few technical details along the way. Matthew is a highly regarded horologist with 20 years of experience working with Harrison clocks and researching the clockmaker’s methods. He is also a maker of replica Harrison clocks, the founder of Time Traveller Clocks and a close friend to the Clocktime team. On the 27th June, I had the pleasure of visiting the Huguenot Museum in Rochester, Kent, UK. Dr Tessa Murdoch, the Chair of the Museum, organised a fabulous day for a group of 27 heritage professionals. First, we visited Rochester’s Restoration House and Gardens, a privately owned and lovingly restored Elizabethan mansion. We also toured the grounds of the French Hospital. It was founded in 1718 to support Huguenots in need. It is still active today, providing sheltered accommodation primarily to those of Huguenot descent. We were then treated to a guided tour of the Huguenot Museum by Tessa herself. Tessa has published extensively on British decorative arts, is a formidable scholar of Huguenot artists, designers and craftsmen in Great Britain and Ireland and is the former Deputy Keeper of Sculpture, Metalwork, Ceramics and Glass at London’s V&A Museum. Having opened its doors in 2015, the Huguenot Museum is already making an impact, as it is the first and only museum of Huguenot history in Britain. I highly recommend a visit, especially to see the 1730’s Lethieullier Dolls House now on display. You might also squeeze in a visit to the magnificent Rochester Cathedral, just across the road. In my last column, I mentioned a talk I gave to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland on 16 May. You can now watch this talk, ‘Curating Clocktime: the making of a digital museum’ on the Society’s YouTube channel. Finally, I made my radio debut! On Saturday, 27 July, I was asked to answer the question, ‘How do we know what time it actually is?’ I joined guest-host Henry Bonsu on Times Radio to explain the development of early medieval turret clocks right on through to the creation of atomic clocks in a dizzying 8 minutes. It was fun. To learn more about the history of atomic clocks, I recommended a visit to the Museum of Timekeeping in Newark, Nottinghamshire, run by The British Horological Institute. If you have a burning question about time, contact me here. If you or your group would be interested in me or one of my colleagues speaking at an event in person or online, let us know. As ever, I wish you all excellent timing. Until next time…
