Conservation, education and practical research are at the heart of The Clockworks. We have a regular Conservator-in-Residence, who works both on the in-house collection and on private projects, and our fully equipped studio is a training ground for future electrical horology specialists and conservators.
Conservator-in-Residence
Alex Jeffrey is an industry-qualified conservation-led clockmaker who started working for a clockmaking company during term breaks whilst studying towards his bachelors in Engineering. Immediately drawn to horology for its technical aspects, considered approach, craft skills and the opportunity it gave for creative expression, Alex followed a traditional path to formal training: a structured, time served, five-year apprenticeship with Thwaites & Reed Clockmakers.
In 2021 he joined the in-house clock team at The Palace of Westminster, working on the nationally important collection of heritage clocks across the estate, and on the major restoration of the Great Clock of Westminster (affectionately known as Big Ben). He has worked independently and collaboratively on restoration projects across the UK and Switzerland and is the consultant horological conservator for the Goldsmiths Company. In March 2023, he left The Palace of Westminster to focus on his private practice, The Alex Jeffrey Clock Company Ltd (which he founded in 2019), and joined The Clockworks as Conservator-in-Residence. Here, he continues to work on heritage domestic clocks as well as public clocks, while also servicing and conserving The Clockworks’s collection.
Former conservators-in-residence
Johan ten Hoeve trained as furniture maker in Amsterdam. From 2007 till 2011 he studied at West Dean College, where he created a replica of the year-going Tompion for the Royal Observatory Greenwich. From 2012 Johan was instrumental in establishing the workshop and museum at The Clockworks. He was Conservator-in-Residence until April 2023, when he returned to the Netherlands to take over his family’s clockmaking business.
Françoise Collanges trained in clock conservation at West Dean College (2010-2012). After a first career as an art historian and collection manager in various French museums, she decided to specialise in horology. She joined Johan Ten Hoeve at the workshop at The Clockworks in 2013, and stayed on as Conservator-in-Residence until 2018. She is now settled in Brussels as a consultant in preventive conservation and emergency planning for cultural heritage, with a specialism in clocks and dynamic objects. In 2021 she started a PhD in conservation-restoration on documenting and researching 19th-century French pendules (CY Paris Cergy Université, France).
Tabea Rude trained as a watchmaker in Pforzheim, Germany followed by an MA in Clock Conservation at West Dean College, UK. After a two month internship, she joined The Clockworks as a conservator in residence in September 2015. Since 2017, she has worked as the Curator and Conservator at the Vienna City Clock Museum.
James Harris studied at Birmingham School of Jewellery, specialising in watches, and winning an award from the AHS for his masterpiece clock project. He has worked for Tag Heuer, Omega, and Christopher Ward (among others), and returned to Birmingham as a lecturer. In 2017 James was offered the opportunity to fill the space left by the outgoing Tabea and jumped at the chance; he used his time at The Clockworks to start his own private practice. Harris Horology is now based nearby in Camberwell specialising in repair of vintage watches and antique clocks.
Other alumni of The Clockworks
Takumi Hamano trained as a watchmaker in Japan and worked there as a clockmaker. He moved to the UK to pursue a career in clockmaking, shadowing the Conservator-in-Residence at The Clockworks for ten months from September 2022. He is now studying for a Foundation Degree in clockmaking at West Dean College.
Jongchan “JC” Li completed an internship at The Clockworks in 2023 during his MA studies in clock conservation at West Dean College. He has since been employed at The Cumbria Clock Company where he has had the opportunity to work on projects such as the Bowes Silver Swan.
Yu Hsuan (Jocelyne) Chang has a MA degree in metal conservation. She decided to move into horology after discovering an interest in conserving dynamic objects and undertaking a two-year Foundation Degree in clocks at West Dean College. In January 2025, she spent two weeks doing a work placement with Alex Jeffrey.