Curator of Horology

My role is to research and interpret our diverse and extraordinary horological objects and collections. This involves studying the objects themselves, uncovering how they were used and then presenting these findings through gallery exhibitions, writing and talks. My current research is centred on the Royal Observatory’s astronomical clocks. This collection is unique in the field of precision horology, since it spans the development of the astronomical clock from the Observatory’s foundation in 1675 through to the 20th century.

Rewarding aspects of the job

Working with clocks and watches has always been a pleasure but, for me the most rewarding part of the job is placing these objects into the bigger contextual picture; discovering why they were made, by whom and how they were used. Many of the precision clocks at the Royal Observatory have tremendously rich histories and surprisingly long working lives. In my most recent project I researched a group of clocks that celebrate naval heroes. It was particularly exciting to present these objects in the wider historical context and make positive links to texts, paintings, prints and decorative objects from the larger National Maritime Museum collection.

The questions that I’m asked most

Where is the Greenwich Mean Time clock?

The simple answer is that there is no single Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) clock and there never has been. Historically, GMT was determined by observation of the Sun and ‘fixed’ stars and so it is fair to say that our planet, the Sun and universe were all components of the GMT clock. However in the 1920s William Shortt’s electrical clock system, led to realization that the Earth’s speed of rotation is not entirely constant. Today, Universal Co-ordinated Time (UTC) is derived from a number of highly accurate atomic timekeepers.

I have a marine chronometer. Can you tell me which ships it was used on?

Fortunately, many of the Admiralty chronometer records survive and we are often able to supply a working history of an Admiralty marine chronometer. The records that we hold relate to the movement of chronometers to and from the Royal Observatory; often to named ships or supply points and commonly to the makers for repair or alteration.

These records are the basis of the International Chronometer Index (ICI). The ICI is a growing database of all marine chronometers that are known to exist; the project was started in 1970 and continues to grow.