The history of electrical timekeeping
The Clockworks is a hub for electrical horology in south London
Electrical horology collection
The museum at The Clockworks displays electric clocks and scientific instruments telling the history of networked time.
Sigmund Riefler
Precision regulator No. 147
Leroy
Astronomical regulator No. 1
Synchronome
Close-up of the ‘Synchronome Switch’
About The Clockworks
The Clockworks is a lively hub dedicated to the study of electrical and precision horology, distributed and standardised time. It encompasses a museum, library, archive, conservation workshop and event space.
The heart of The Clockworks is the world-class collection of electrical clocks, timekeepers and associated technologies assembled over 30 years by the historian James Nye.
From the pioneering electrical clock designed in the 1840s by the Scottish inventor Alexander Bain, to the world’s most precise pendulum regulator, made behind the Iron Curtain by Feodosii Fedchenko, this is the most important and representative publicly accessible collection of electrical clocks anywhere in the world.
In addition to displaying this collection in an onsite museum, The Clockworks is also a centre for practical electrical horology, and a major training ground for specialist horology conservators. We have a Conservator-in-Residence who works from a fully equipped onsite workshop, enabling us to support and help develop electro-technical conservators – an area where we have identified a significant national and international skills gap.
Repair and research
Our state-of-the-art workshop is a centre for knowledge-sharing and research.
Aynsworth & John Thwaites
Restoring a musical clock by Aynsworth and John Thwaites.
Longcase clock
Brazing clock hands at the hearth.
Zenith
Servicing a Zenith regulator clock
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