Benutzer:Karsten11/Thwaites & Reed

Turmuhr von Thwaites & Reed aus dem Jahr 1817, heute im Haus aus Laubach im Hessenpark

Thwaites & Reed ist eine der ältesten bis heute bestehenden Uhrenhersteller der Welt. Nach Familienangaben stammten die ältesten Entwürfe des Archives des Familienunternehmens aus dem Jahr 1610. Der älteste heute noch archivalisch dokumentierte Uhrenentwurf der Firma stammt aus dem Jahr 1740.

30 Jahre lang war die Firma für die Wartung aller Uhren des Palace of Westminster, einschliesslich "Big Ben" verantwortlich. Neben "Thwaites & Reed" wurden als Markenzeichen "Aynsworth Thwaites", "John Thwaites" und während FW Elliott Ltd it also made movements under the Elliott brand.

Geschichte

Die Geschichte des Unternehmens geht auf John Thwaites zurück. John Thwaites war Uhrmacher am Anfang des 17. Jahrhunderts und Gründer der der Thwaites & Reed in der Rosoman Street, Clerkenwell, London 1740. wo das Unternehmen bis 1780 seinen Sitz hatte. Danach wurde der Sitz nach Bowling Green Lane verlegt. Die erste belegte Auftragsarbeit war eine Turmuhr für die Horseguards Parade. Der Auftrag aus dem Jahr 1740 wurde erst 1768 fertiggestellt. 1770 datiert eine Uhr für die British East India Company dieser Firma. Aynsworth was succeeded by John Thwaites, who was head of the firm from 1780 to 1816, and master of the Clockmakers' Company in 1815, 1819, and 1820. In 1816, Thwaites partnered with George Jeremiah Reed, and the firm became Thwaites & Reed. John Thwaite remained at the firm's head until 1842. The firm of John Moore was acquired in 1899. In 1969 the family firm brought in outsiders to manage its business culminating in the British Government acquiring control of Thwaites & Reed. In 1978 it was acquired from the Government by F W Elliott Ltd who owned Thwaites & Reed Limited until it was sold in 1991 to Melvyn Lee. The historic documents on loan to the London Metropolitan Archives(ref MS 6788-6808) cover the periods from 1780 to 1955. Dunstable Town Council archives had a catalogue of turret clocks made up to 1878 and there is a later incomplete list showing the date of supply and purchasers of turret clocks to 1902. Up to 1900, 2978 domestic clocks were made with serial numbers in chronological order (The Context of Production, Identification and Dating of Clocks by A. and J. Thwaites by GTE Buggins and AJ Turner). Other clocks were not listed but from 1972 to 1980 10 types of replica clocks with serial numbers from 1 to 1000 were made as a limited editions.

Clocks

• Clock at Horseguards Parade (1756)
• East India Company, India (1770)
• The Royal Clock in the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney, Australia.
• Bracken House Clock with Zodiac Calendar and Churchill's face emblazoned on it (1955?) - Bracken House, former home of the Financial Times)
• Royal Small Arms Clock Tower (c 1783)
• Clock at All Saints Church, Wokingham (1817)
• St. John's Church, Parramatta, NSW, Australia - clock in north tower (1821)
• Holy Trinity Old Church, Margate (1845)
• St. George Tabernacle, St. George, Utah,
• Prince Albert Memorial Clocktower, Hastings - Gothic style (1864)
• Bow Bells at St Mary-le-Bow electric clock mechanism (1961)
• Fortnum & Mason of Piccadilly, with automata jacks of the founders, Fortnum & Mason in 19th Century costumes. (1964)
• Mast House Clock, Simon's Town Naval Base, South Africa (1816)

Weblinks

• 

  Commons: Thwaites & Reed – Sammlung von Bildern, Videos und Audiodateien
• Official website

Quellen

• Industries: Clock and watch-making', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 2: General; Ashford, East Bedfont with Hatton, Feltham, Hampton with Hampton Wick, Hanworth, Laleham, Littleton (1911), pp. 158–65.

Category:1740 establishments in England Category:Companies established in 1740 Kategorie:Uhrenhersteller Category:Companies based in East Sussex Category:Companies established in the 18th century