Posts In: Traditional

Automatic winding and timekeeping

February 27, 2018 Heritage, Public, Time, Traditional

A spiral staircase which will be climbed a little less from now on. Smith of Derby automatic winding and time regulation comes with an unseen but vitally important feature as standard – the facility to remove the new equipment without a trace should the clock ever be required in its former historical state. So at All Hallows Church in Walkington, East Yorkshire, the original winding handle is being carefully saved – just in case. In the meantime the long serving team of clock winders will be able to enjoy a well earned retirement. Keeping a clock wound up is hard…

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Funeral of Mr Nicholas Smith

February 22, 2018 News, Public, Time, Traditional

John Nicholas Wilkins Smith born Derby, 21st August 1935 Died peacefully at Glenfield Hospital surrounded by family on 12th February 2018. Much loved husband, father and grandfather. Funeral to celebrate his life at St Paul’s Church, Quarndon, Derbyshire on Monday 26th February at 12 noon. No flowers, but donations welcome for The Padley Centre Derby or the Gurkha Welfare Trust sent to G E Simnett & Family Funeral Directors Ltd 65 High Street, Chellaston Derby DE73 6TB.

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Announcement to friends of Smith of Derby Limited

February 13, 2018 Heritage, News, Public, Traditional

Dear friends of Smith of Derby Limited We are writing to you today to share the sad news that John Nicholas Wilkins Smith, our President and active Archivist passed away late yesterday afternoon. Mr Nick, as he was affectionately known by all of us here at Smith of Derby, died peacefully following a short illness and a heart operation. His family was with him. There will be more to say and share with all our friends in due course, but it is enough for now to let you know that after his family, his (literally!) lifelong association with the Smith…

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Case Study: St Paul’s Cathedral

February 8, 2018 Heritage, Public, Time, Traditional, Uncategorized

Client: Whites of Appleton Location: London, UK Size: 3 X 17ft 6″ stone skeleton dial Date: Ongoing since 1893 Project code: 4005 An iconic landmark that is known around the world, St Paul’s Cathedral in London is an instantly recognizable symbol of the London skyline. Smith of Derby are proud to have built and installed St Paul’s Cathedral current clock in 1893. We have taken care of this clock ever since, ensuring that it withstands the test of time. St Paul’s Cathedral receives approximately 1,500,000 visitors every year, which puts a high responsibility on us to keep it working and…

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Training key priority for Smith of Derby Clockmakers

January 16, 2018 Heritage, News, Public, Time, Traditional

Our clockmakers were taken off the road last week for training at our Derby workshop. This included working with external specialists as well as experts from within the team on aspects of traditional turret clock history and care; health and safety; customer relations and electronics. They were also introduced to new products and some projects in development. Safety is a main priority for our company with our specialists receiving training and maintenance checks on their equipment and company vehicles ensuring we are a safe pair of hands. It is part of our ongoing commitment to enhance the knowledge and skills…

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Historic clock paves the way for future expertise

January 5, 2018 Heritage, News, Time, Traditional

Turret clock and Harrison specialist, Chris McKay, is today working alongside our apprentices to restore the James Harrison of Hulls clock which arrived at our Derby workshop on 22nd December. The preliminary analysis of the clock marks the first step towards a restoration which will see the piece reinstalled at the Derby Silk Mill as part of their renovation to become the Museum of Making 2020. Smith of Derby apprentice, Mitch, is excited to work on the restoration. He says, “This clock has not worked for a while and I look forward to being part of the process to see…

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See our apprentices dismantling the James Harrison of Hull’s clock @derbysilkmill

December 22, 2017 Heritage, News, Public, Time, Traditional

Check out our apprentice clockmakers Sam, Mitch and Tom dismantling the James Harrison of Hull’s Clock @derbysilkmill on Monday 18th December. James Harrison of Hull’s clock is now @smithofderby workshop waiting to be carefully restored under the guidance of turret clock and particularly Harrison specialist Chris McKay. For the latest updates please visit twitter pages @derbymuseums @smithofderby.

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Our apprentices to restore historic Harrison clock

December 15, 2017 Heritage, News, Public, Time, Traditional

Derby Museums and Smith of Derby are delighted to announce a partnership project that will see the historic Harrison clock, formerly of Derby Guildhall, removed from Derby Silk Mill and restored to working condition by apprentices at Smith of Derby. This exciting project has the dual benefit of training up future clockmakers and maintainers while safeguarding the future of one of the museum’s, and Derby’s, most significant treasures. The project will also see the nationally-significant Whitehurst I turret clock removed to Smith of Derby for safe keeping and display during the course of the Silk Mill’s £16.4m renovation to become…

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We’re changing our logo: About our redesign

September 21, 2017 Heritage, News, Public, Traditional

Written by Joe Smith, Director & 5th Generation Smith Family. Over the last year we have been designing a fresh “face” to the world. Actually four fresh faces – for our long standing clockmaking companies: J B Joyce of Whitchurch, James Ritchie of Edinburgh, William Potts of Leeds, and John Smith & Sons of Derby. Ours is a rich heritage that dates right back to the 1690’s and we are reflecting this through a common identity theme, perpetuating the individual company names as well as their traditional hand and dial designs. This means we’ll have new brand identities with the…

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Our investment in clockmaking apprentices with Chesterfield College

September 20, 2017 Heritage, News, Traditional

Over the Summer period Learning Unlimited, part of Chesterfield College Group, visited our clock company to take video footage of our clock making apprentices. Take a look at the video and many thanks to Lisa at Chesterfield College for sharing!      

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