Death of ‘the Father of English Clockmaking’
Thomas Tompion, a master of time, died on November 20th, 1713.
Born in 1639, Thomas Tompion was the son of a Bedfordshire blacksmith. Frustratingly, almost nothing is known about his early years and how he acquired the skills that gained him recognition as incomparably the greatest English clockmaker of the age. There is a suggestion that he was taught by a clockmaker called Joseph Knibb. Certainly by his thirties Tompion was well on his way to fame. By 1670 he had moved to London. He joined the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers and lived and ran his business in what is now Whitefriars Street, off Fleet Street. He later moved to the Fleet Street corner, where a blue plaque recalls him today.
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