The Worshipful Company of Clockmakers was established under a Royal Charter granted by King Charles I in 1631. It ranks sixty-first among the livery companies of the City of London, and comes under the jurisdiction of the Privy Council. The company established a library and its museum in 1813, which is the oldest specific collection of clocks and watches worldwide. This is administered by the company's affiliated charity, the Clockmakers' Charity, and is presently housed on the second floor of London's Science Museum. The modern aims of the company and its museum are charitable and educational, in particular to promote and preserve clockmaking and watchmaking, which as of 2019 were added to the HCA Red List of Endangered Crafts.
A clockmaker is an artisan who makes and/or repairs clocks. Since almost all clocks are now factory-made, most modern clockmakers only repair clocks. Modern clockmakers may be employed by jewellers, antique shops, and places devoted strictly to repairing clocks and watches. Clockmakers must be able to read blueprints and instructions for numerous types of clocks and time pieces that vary from antique clocks to modern time pieces in order to fix and make clocks or watches. The trade requires fine motor coordination as clockmakers must frequently work on devices with small gears and fine machinery.
The Clockmakers’ Museum in London, England, is believed to be the oldest collection specifically of clocks and watches in the world. The collection belongs to and is administered by the Clockmakers’ Charity, affiliated to the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, founded in 1631 by Royal Charter. Since 2015 it has been housed in a gallery provided by the Science Museum in South Kensington, having formerly been located in the Guildhall complex in the City of London since 1874, where it first opened to the public. Admission is free.
Eli Terry Sr. was an inventor and clockmaker in Connecticut. He received a United States patent for a shelf clock mechanism. He introduced mass production to the art of clockmaking, which made clocks affordable for the average American citizen. Terry occupies an important place in the beginnings of the development of interchangeable parts manufacturing. Terry is considered the first person in American history to actually accomplish interchangeable parts with no government funding. Terry became one of the most accomplished mechanics in New England during the early part of the nineteenth century. The village of Terryville, Connecticut is named for his son, Eli Terry Jr.
Thomas Tompion, FRS (1639–1713) was an English clockmaker, watchmaker and mechanician who is still regarded to this day as the "Father of English Clockmaking". Tompion's work includes some of the most historic and important clocks and watches in the world, and can command very high prices whenever outstanding examples appear at auction. A plaque commemorates the house he shared on Fleet Street in London with his equally famous pupil and successor George Graham.
The German Clock Museum is situated near the centre of the Black Forest town of Furtwangen im Schwarzwald (Germany), a historical centre of clockmaking. It features permanent and temporary exhibits on the history of timekeeping. The museum is part of the local technical college.
Thwaites & Reed has been in continuous manufacture since its foundation and claims to be the oldest clock manufacturing company in the world. Geoffrey Buggins MBE, the last of the original family clockmakers, saw drawings of Thwaites clocks dating back to 1610. These drawings and other early records prior to 1780 went missing but other records from that date are stored with the London Metropolitan Archives. Further records are stored by Thwaites & Reed up to present day.
Amish furniture is furniture manufactured by the Amish, primarily of Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Ohio. It is generally known as being made completely out of wood, usually without particle board or laminate. The styles most often used by the Amish woodworkers are generally more traditional in nature.
The Halsey House is a historic house converted into a museum, in Southampton, New York. It was built circa 1683 by Thomas Halsey Jr., the son of pioneer Thomas Halsey Sr.
Isaac Newton Youngs was a member of the Shakers. He was a prolific scribe, correspondent, and diarist who documented the history of the New Lebanon, New York Church Family of Shakers from 1815 to 1865.
Gardiners Island Windmill is a historic windmill on Gardiners Island in East Hampton, New York. The mill was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Hook Windmill, also known as Old Hook Mill, is a historic windmill on North Main Street in East Hampton, New York. It was built in 1806 and operated regularly until 1908. One of the most complete of the existing windmills on Long Island, the windmill was sold to the town of East Hampton in 1922. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and is part of the North Main Street Historic District. The mill was renamed the "Old Hook Mill" and is open daily to visitors.
Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy was a clockmaker, active in 18th and 19th century Britain. He succeeded his father Benjamin Vulliamy as head of the firm and Clockmaker to the Crown.
Peter Stretch was among the most prominent early American clockmakers and among the first makers of scientific instruments in America.
The Pantigo Windmill is an octagonal smock mill in Easthampton on Long Island, New York. Bearing a 1771 weathervane on top, the James Lane structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 as a contributing property of the East Hampton Village District.
The mill cottage on the Lion Gardiner farm at 36 James Lane on the landmarked East Hampton Village green has become a museum displaying 19th and early-20th-century landscape paintings. It is a contributing structure on the NRHP East Hampton Village District, replacing the original cottage on the lot situated with the windmill and Rev James historic marker.
Aspen Golann is an American woodworker who produces furniture.
Charles Frederick Hummel Jr. is a retired American curator, author, and educator who worked at the Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library from 1955 to 1991, concluding his career as senior deputy director for museum and library.
The Tide Mill at Southold, erected in the 1640's by Thomas Benedict, holds a place of distinction in American history as the first recorded English mill in the New World. It paved the way for future tide mills and contributed to the economic growth of the Southold community.
Samuel Schellinger, was a millwright of Amagansett, New York and the craftsman who built the Pantigo windmill (1804), the Hayground Windmill (1809), the Amagansett windmill (1814) and the Beebe Windmill (1820) which are on the NRHP. Later, he built the Setauket windmill. Records show he built or worked on seven windmills and repaired others.
