J. B. Joyce & Co
Former factory of J. B. Joyce & Co | |
| Industry | Clock manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Founded | Shropshire, England 1690 |
| Founder | William Joyce |
| Defunct | 2012 |
| Headquarters | |
| Products |
|
J. B. Joyce & Co, clockmakers, were founded in Shropshire in England. The company claim to be the oldest clock manufacturer in the world, originally established in 1690,[1] and have been part of the Smith of Derby Group since 1965.[2] The claim is challenged by another English firm of clockmakers, Thwaites & Reed, who claim to have been in continuous manufacture since before 1740, with antecedents to 1610.
History
William Joyce began in the North Shropshire village of Cockshutt making longcase clocks. The family business was handed down from father to son and in 1790 moved to High Street, Whitchurch, Shropshire. In 1834 Thomas Joyce made large clocks for local churches and public buildings. In 1849 the company copied the Big Ben escapement designed by Lord Grimthorpe. J. B. Joyce also installed synchronous electric clocks in a number of railway stations, including Liverpool's Lime Street Station, Aberystwyth in Wales, and Carnforth in Lancashire.[3] In 1904 J. B. Joyce moved to Station Road, Whitchurch. John Edgar Howard Smith (1907–1983), a former managing director of Smith of Derby Group, designed the first and subsequent synchronous electric movements for J. B. Joyce, and their associated electro-mechanical bell striking units.[4][5]
In 1964, Norman Joyce, the last member of the Joyce family, retired and sold the company to Smith of Derby.[6] During the 1970s, many of the mechanical clocks were changed to use the electric motors made by the Smith parent company. However, J. B. Joyce continued to operate as a separate company, with mainly heritage work being carried out in the factory up to 2012, when a timed-bid auction was held to sell off surplus equipment, tools, and clock parts, at the Station Road premises.[7] Interior designers, collectors of historic items, and aficionados of J. B. Joyce, joined to bid for a "piece of horological history".[8]
Notable clocks
United Kingdom
England
- Greenall's Brewery Clock Tower, Stockton Heath, Warrington, Cheshire (1845)
- St Michael and All Angels, Middlewich (1847)[9]
- Market House, Shrewsbury (1855)[10]
- Hereford railway station (1857)[11]
- St James’ Church, Bradford (1857)[12]
- Carnforth railway station, Lancashire
- Tynemouth Clock Tower (1861)[13]
- St Mary's Church, Handsworth, Sheffield (1867)[14]
- St James the Greater Church, Norton, Sheffield (1868)[15]
- St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Sheffield (1869)[16]
- Worcester Cathedral, Worcester, Worcestershire (1869-71)
- St Mary’s Church, Sutterton, Lincolnshire (1871)[17]
- Chester Cathedral (1873)[18]
- The Royal Exchange, Manchester (1875)[19]
- St John's Church, Cotebrook (1876)[20]
- St John's, Worcester (1877)[21]
- Chichester Cathedral (1878)[18]
- Liverpool Lime Street railway station, Liverpool
- Preston railway station, Lancashire (1880)
- Parish Church, Castle Donington (1880)[22]
- All Saints’ Church, Ladbroke, Southam (1882)[23]
- Salisbury Cathedral (1883)[18]
- Abberley Clock Tower (1884)
- Tewkesbury Abbey (1887)[18]
- Lichfield Cathedral (1891)[18]
- Tom Tower, Christ Church, Oxford (1889)[24]
- St John the Baptist Church, Coventry (1889)[25]
- The Market House, Rothwell, Northamptonshire (1895-96)
- St Andrew's Church, Folkingham 1897[26]
- Southwell Minster (1898)[18]
- St Chad’s Church, Hanmer, Wrexham (1891)[27]
- Jubilee Clock Tower, Churchill, North Somerset (1898)[4]
- Eastgate Clock, Chester, Cheshire (1897)[28]
- Dukinfield Town Hall, Dukinfield, Lancs (1901)
- Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston (1909)
- Shrewsbury Abbey (1909)[29]
- Christ Church, Erith 1915[30]
Scotland
- Glasgow University (1888)[31]
- Kirk of St Nicholas, Aberdeen (1890)[32]
Wales
- Bangor Cathedral (1842)[33]
- Denbigh Town Hall (1850)[34]
- Town Clock, Tredegar (1858)
- St Davids Cathedral (1871)[35]
- Rhyl Town Hall (1879)[36]
- Aberystwyth railway station, Aberystwyth
Worldwide
- General Post Office, Sydney, Australia 1891[37]
- St George's College Clock Tower, Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India[38]
- Custom House, Shanghai, People's Republic of China (Shipped to Shanghai in 1927)[39]
- City Hall, Cape Town, South Africa
- Post office "Station C" clock, Heritage Hall, Vancouver, Canada
Gallery
-
Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Tower, Birmingham
-
Eastgate, Chester
-
Custom House, Shanghai
-
Cape Town City Hall, Cape Town
-
General Post Office, Sydney
See also
References
- ^ Meech, Julie (1997). "Walk 4: Whitchurch". Tea Shop Walks in Shropshire. Wilmslow: Sigma Leisure. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-85058-598-5. OCLC 43089773. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
- ^ Rowell, Rebecca (2009). "2. Young Randolph". Randolph Caldecott: Renowned British Illustrator. Publishing Pioneers. Minnesota: ABDO Publishing Company. p. 21. ISBN 978-1-60453-760-4. OCLC 716406077. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
- ^ White, Barrie (16 September 2017). "Whitchurch's very own horology legends come under the spotlight in Bygones". Whitchurch Herald. Chester Chronicle and Associated Newspapers. ISSN 0962-4414. OCLC 1064604503. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
- ^ a b
"Councillors to tidy up round Churchill clock". Cheddar Valley Gazette. 7 October 1976. p. 3. ISSN 0963-2867. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
The clock was made by our associate company J. B. Joyce in Shropshire for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1898.—J. E. Howard Smith.
- ^ Smith of Derby Ltd (2021). "Our Group of Companies". smithofderby.com. Derby. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
- ^ Broad, Gill (10 January 2012). "J B Joyce facing restructuring process". Whitchurch Herald. Chester Chronicle and Associated Newspapers. ISSN 0962-4414. OCLC 1064604503. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
- ^ "Book Charts the History of World-Famous Clockmakers". Whitchurch Herald. Chester Chronicle and Associated Newspapers. 25 December 2013. ISSN 0962-4414. OCLC 1064604503. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
- ^ Broad, Gill (16 January 2014). "New chapter for J B Joyce building". Whitchurch Herald. Chester Chronicle and Associated Newspapers. ISSN 0962-4414. OCLC 1064604503. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
- ^ "Middlewich Church Clock and Chimes". Northwich Guardian. United Kingdom. 21 June 1902. Retrieved 20 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "New clock at the Market House". Eddowes’s Shresbury Journal. United Kingdom. 21 March 1855. Retrieved 28 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "New Clock at the Barr's Court Station". Hereford Journal. United Kingdom. 4 March 1857. Retrieved 28 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "St James Church Clock". Bradford Observer. United Kingdom. 4 June 1857. Retrieved 28 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Clock-tower, Tynemouth". Illustrated London News. United Kingdom. 21 December 1861. Retrieved 28 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Register of the leading Commercial, Political & Foreign events in 1867". Sheffield Daily Telegraph. United Kingdom. 4 January 1868. Retrieved 28 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "New clock at Norton Church". Sheffield Daily Telegraph. United Kingdom. 2 May 1868. Retrieved 28 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "The chimes at Sheffield Parish Church". Sheffield Daily Telegraph. United Kingdom. 1 September 1869. Retrieved 28 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "The New Clock". Stamford Mercury. United Kingdom. 6 December 1872. Retrieved 29 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b c d e f Pickford, Chris, ed. (1995). Turret Clocks: Lists of Clocks from Makers' Catalogues and Publicity Materials (2nd ed.). Wadhurst, E. Sussex: Antiquarian Horological Society. pp. 119–133.
- ^ "The Royal Exchange Clock". Manchester Evening News. United Kingdom. 12 November 1875. Retrieved 28 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "A New Clock for Cotebrook Church". Cheshire Observer. United Kingdom. 8 January 1876. Retrieved 29 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "A New Clock". Worcestershire Chronicle. United Kingdom. 26 May 1877. Retrieved 29 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "New bells, New Clock and Chimes Dedication Service at Castle Donington". Derby Mercury. United Kingdom. 11 August 1880. Retrieved 28 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Ladbrook". Nuneaton Advertiser. United Kingdom. 14 January 1882. Retrieved 28 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "New Clock in Tom Tower". Oxford Times. United Kingdom. 2 February 1889. Retrieved 28 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "New Clock for St. John's Coventry". Kenilworth Advertiser. United Kingdom. 2 February 1889. Retrieved 28 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Dedication of a new church clock at Folkingham". Sleaford Gazette. United Kingdom. 18 December 1897. Retrieved 28 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Hanmer". Wellington Journal. United Kingdom. 5 September 1891. Retrieved 28 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Smith of Derby Ltd (28 May 2014). "Eastgate Chester Clock". smithofderby.com. Derby. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
- ^ "The Restoration of Shrewsbury Abbey". Shrewsbury Chronicle. United Kingdom. 24 September 1909. Retrieved 2 January 2026 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Christ Church, Erith". Woolwich Gazette. United Kingdom. 8 June 1915. Retrieved 2 January 2026 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "The new clock and bells at the university". Glasgow Herald. United Kingdom. 29 May 1888. Retrieved 28 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "The New St Nicholas Clock". Aberdeen Press and Journal. United Kingdom. 20 October 1890. Retrieved 28 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Bangor". Chester Chronicle. United Kingdom. 4 November 1842. Retrieved 20 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Denbigh". North Wales Chronicle. United Kingdom. 30 April 1850. Retrieved 28 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Clock making in Salap and the new Market Hall clocl". Shrewsbury Chronicle. United Kingdom. 17 February 1871. Retrieved 20 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "The Town Hall Clock". Rhyl Record and Advertiser. United Kingdom. 23 August 1879. Retrieved 28 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Sydney Clock in Safe Place". Wellington Journal. England. 6 May 1944. Retrieved 16 November 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Origin of St George's College". sgconline.ac.in. Mussoorie: St George's College. 2021. Archived from the original on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
- ^ Smith of Derby Ltd (2021). "Shanghai Custom House Tower Clock". smithofderby.com. Derby. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
Further reading
- Elliott, Douglas J. (1979). Shropshire Clock and Watchmakers. London: Phillimore. ISBN 978-0-85033-328-2. OCLC 6279084.
Contains a chapter on the history of J. B. Joyce & Co.
- Hughes, Richard; Wood, Ash (1987). Clock and Watchmakers of Whitchurch. Whitchurch: Whitchurch Area Archaeological Group. OCLC 1138565272.
- Thomas, Steve; Thomas, Darlah (2013). Joyce of Whitchurch: Clockmakers 1690–1965. Chester: Inbeat publication. ISBN 978-0-9573733-1-0. OCLC 1059414120.
External links
- Official website of the British Horological Institute.
- J. B. Joyce at Grace's Guide.
- The Joyce Building at Whitchurch, Shropshire.
- John Smith & Sons, Midland Clock Works, Derby Ltd.
- Obituary of Nicholas Smith at the Wayback Machine (archived 21 January 2021), former managing director of Smith of Derby, clockmakers.
- Time Detectives, discovering the history of railway clocks at the National Railway Museum.