A good example of a Provincial Oak thirty-hour longcase by John Rawson of Penrith with a fine dial (shown below) and a case with mahogany quartered pillars to the trunk. He was a well recorded maker of the mid to late 1700's.
There are many provincial clockmakers whose work compares favourably with that of the main London makers. The county clockmaker may not have associated with the fashionable world 'in town' but he was often a past-master of his craft and for a collector there is much to be said in having a clock by a provincial maker with all its parts intact and in original condition as opposed for paying more for a London piece of comparable quality which may have seen more of the restorers bench due to its location. Also provincial makers didn't tend to stick with accepted designs of the period as would London makers and therefore a variation in look is found which adds to the interest. Norfolk clocks and Yorkshire clocks, for instance, each have their distinctive character. Makers used local ideas and preferences often introducing ideas of their own which means a provincial name on a dial should arouse interest with a study of county styles and trends being informative. Help is also in hand with the large amount of books now available on provincial makers often going into great detail on individual makers. (See the article on Books to Read via the link below)
Many of the great masters worked outside of London before moving to the city, indeed a number moved from London later in life. Thomas Mudge did both moving back to Plymouth from London where he continued his important work preferring the quieter existence that allowed him to concentrate on his work on marine chronometers. Of course probably the most famous of county clockmakers is John Knibb of Oxford and it is as well to put him to the top of the list and leave it at that for the sake of this discussion! A number such as Knibb were indeed famous at the time way beyond the boundaries laid out by the planners.
There were families of clockmakers scattered around the country who would take ideas from each other and spread innovations and styles from one district to another. Often they were Quakers like the Harvey family who in the late seventeenth century to the early eighteenth who worked as far afield as York, Richmond and Weymouth.
Many of these provincial clocks are of such high quality because they were made by the local maker for the gentry and those in large houses who required something a little more special. For instance Edward Cockey of Warminster produced stunning clocks with movements of quite unbelievable complexity including one that belonged to Queen Anne, but worked in Wiltshire! (see Derek Roberts 'British Longcase Clocks' and Pollard 'The Astronomical Clockmaker Edward Cockey') Another was Jacob Lovelace of Exeter who spent over thirty years constructing his famous piece (part of which is in the Exeter Museum the rest unfortunately destroyed whilst being exhibited during the war in Liverpool) This clock formed a major part of the 1851 Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace. It was similar to the German Great Tower clock in the British Museum with processions of moving figures indicating day and night.
Clockmakers living in or near sea port towns often included mechanisms for showing the tides within the arch with the inscription 'High Water at ....'. These were often allied to the phases of the moon which were, of course, related. Some of the best are to be seen by the Bristol makers whose cases are most distinctive, often with tall fret work to the top of the case and wavy mouldings to the trunk doors and hoods.
The lives of provincial clockmakers were not without incident. Take David Ramsey of Scotland. Brought back from France by James I to be his watchmaker he signed his work 'David Ramsay Scotus' claiming that he always lived there. A number of his watches are in both the British and Victoria & Albert museums. He was a 'character' dabbling in the occult for a start and obtaining no less than eight various patents between 1618 & 1638.
One of the great county makers of the eighteenth century was John Hallifax of Barnsley who also made some of the most magnificent barometers ever produced (see 'English Barometers' by Nicholas Goodison) His clockwork was most individual and made to the highest standards. One thirty hour longcase by him has an oak case but made with a panelled base in a sort of Knibbesque style with the added feature of the Knibb style of IV on the dial rather than the more normal IIII as used for the Knibb type of striking. His son, Sir Thomas, became probably more well known when having gone down to London he became a partner in the important banking house of Glyns and then Lord Mayor. It is possibly because of this that the pieces by his father were so fine as he surely visited him in London and took back ideas with him. A lovely piece in the old volume 'Worthies of Barnsley' gives a description of John Hallifax and paints a picture of the provincial clockmaker.
"As John Hallifax lived at a time when we had no local newspapers, and no local chronicler, we can say nothing of his ingenious inventions, his abilities and virtues, which are mentioned in his monumental inscription; but that he was a man of high moral character and of great ability and ingenuity there can be no doubt, and if Barnsley had been, at that date, a corporate town he would probably have been one of its chief magistrates; but as there was no such dignity within his reach, he was obliged to remain contented with his lot. In his day he had few compeers; for all in all Barnsley has reason to be proud."
Norfolk bred many clockmakers with interesting characteristics. The whole district is indeed noted for a particular style of wall clock, known as a 'Norfolk' clock being a drop dial taller than is the norm, more a longcase size. The cases are reminiscent of the Act of parliament clock but were normally made in oak or mahogany and had glazed bezels to the dial. These clocks are of a most pleasing design and usually of the highest quality workmanship. The 'Mann' family in Norwich were one of the most respected in the area and produced a number of fine pieces as can be seen by the picture of the wall clock, an eight day example with fine mahogany veneers and a convex painted dial.
All in all it is well worth considering a clock by a provincial maker, the workmanship is often of the highest standard and the design often more individual with the history of the maker very enlightening.
