![]() William Derham mentions this in his book The Artificial Clockmaker. One of these was made for King Charles II and was signed " Robert Hooke invent. Several different kinds were experimented with, including an early type with double balances geared together in order to eliminate errors of motion. 1680ĭue to his relationship with the scientist Robert Hooke, he made some of the first watches with balance springs these had the potential to be much more accurate than earlier watches. Sundial made by Thomas Tompion at Hampton Court Palace, c. They proved to be very accurate and were instrumental in achieving the correct calculations needed for astronomical observations. These were fixed in the Octagon room, each was driven by a deadbeat escapement designed by Richard Towneley, with both clocks only needing to be wound once a year. When the Royal Observatory was established in 1676, King Charles II selected Tompion to create two identical clocks based on Hooke's idea of a very long pendulum swinging in a very small arc. Tompion was an early member of the Clockmakers' Company of London – he joined in 1671 and became a master in 1704, serving with other renowned members such as Charles Gretton, Daniel Quare, and Joseph Windmills. ![]() Importantly, those Huguenots who worked for him in the sphere of decorative arts were able to execute Tompion's demands for the high-quality workmanship on which he founded his unrivalled reputation. ![]() Many of these workmen had French and Dutch Huguenot origins, for example Daniel and Nicholas Delander, Henry Callot and Charles Molyns, the latter possibly related to the family Windmills. This, together with the outstanding skills of the workmen he employed, gave him an unrivalled reputation throughout the known world. Tompion's excellence was based on the sound design of his productions as well as the high quality of the materials used. Hooke's relationship with Tompion was the key to his success, as it opened doors to royal patronage as well as giving him access to the latest technology. Tompion's most important early patron was the scientist Robert Hooke, who may well have known the Knibb family, as both were in Oxford. His early clockmaking style shows a strong connection with Joseph Knibb. The first reference to Tompion in London is recorded around the end of 1670 in Water Lane (now Whitefriars Street) off Fleet Street. Very little of his earlier years is known. He was the eldest son of a blacksmith, also named Thomas Tompion, and probably worked as a blacksmith until 1664 when he became an apprentice of a London clockmaker. The family cottage in Ickwell, his home hamlet in the parish of Northill, bears a plaque erected in his honor by the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers in 1952. Thomas Tompion was born around 1639 and was baptized on 25 July 1639 in Northill, Bedfordshire, England. A plaque commemorates the house he shared on Fleet Street in London with his equally famous pupil and successor George Graham. 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. ![]() 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".
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |