Shop Regulator made by Southwest Clockmaker for Auction
Clock consultant Leigh Extence writes about the Gaydon shop regulator that is being
offered for auction in the antique clocks section of the April 2013 Fine Sale (which
is being held in Exeter) and reveals some of the Southwest clockmaker's background,
noting that John Gaydon hailed from a Westcountry family that produced no less
than twenty-six recorded clockmakers and watchmakers.
Gaydon, Barnstaple (Devon) - A Victorian Shop Regulator (FS18/776) offered in our
Two Day Fine Art Sale starting on 24th April 2013 at our salerooms in
Exeter, Devon. The timepiece carries a pre-sale estimate of between £3,000 and £4,000.
One of the highlights coming up in the antique clock sale in the forthcoming April
2013
Fine Art auction
is a real piece of Westcountry history. A
mahogany floor-standing
regulator,
signed on the silvered dial Gaydon, Barnstaple. The Gaydon family
were clockmakers who had a shop at 99 High Street in Barnstaple from the mid-19th
century until the premises were taken over by Garnish & Winkle, a firm
set-up by recorded watchmaker Lionel Garnish in 1925.
As this regulator was removed from the premises when it finally closed some twenty
years ago, and shows all the signs of having been made in circa 1850, it would be
safe to assume that this was the regulator used by Gaydon as their shop regulator.
The shop regulator was a timepiece of great accuracy that was used to regulate the
other clocks within the shop and workshop; and quite likely was used by customers
who would come in and set their own watches by this most reliable timekeeper.
It has a typical regulator layout to the dial, with the outer ring being for minutes
and the two subsidiary dials showing seconds and hours. The large movement has a
dead-beat escapement, to maintain power, with a wood rod pendulum to compensate
for changes in atmospheric pressure.
The mahogany case has a glazed trunk door, a pediment top and stands on bracket
feet - all signs that this timepiece was made to 'be seen'. Indeed, the case is
almost identical to another local shop regulator made by Gregory of Exeter,
which was sold by Hampton & Littlewood in 2006 and which could have
come from the same local cabinet maker.
The Gaydon family were well-known jewellers and watchmakers in both North Devon
and London, with a most interesting history.
John Gaydon,
born 1821, ran the High Street premises, whilst a number of others worked in
Brentford, Middlesex. Some twenty-six are recorded as watch and clockmakers, and
were Watchmakers to the Queen (Victoria) and Watchmakers to the Admiralty,
with one Henry Martin Gaydon of Middlesex becoming Master of the Worshipful
Company of Clockmakers in 1925. He was a partner in the well-known firm
of Birch & Gaydon Ltd, goldsmiths and silversmiths of Fenchurch Street,
London.
The Barnstaple clock-making business supplied many local churches and public buildings
with turret clocks, including one for the Barnstaple police station and another
for the Globe Hotel that had double dials, one for the lounge bar and the other
for the smoking room. The church clock at Swimbridge is inscribed as being presented
and erected by the Gaydon brothers in commemoration of the restoration of the church
in 1880, being 'natives of Swimbridge', and included John Gaydon along with his
brothers from Middlesex.
This regulator, which stood for so many years in a prime position in one of Devon's
most important towns, would surely have a few tales to tell.
- Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood
- Fine Art Auction
- Clock Auctions
- Clock Auctioneers
- John Gaydon
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