J. B. Joyce & Co

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.

J. B. Joyce & Co
IndustryClock manufacturing
FoundedShropshire, England 1690 (1690)
FounderWilliam Joyce
Defunct2012 (2012)
Headquarters
Shropshire, England
Products

History
The Eastgate Clock in Chester. Clock mechanism built by J. B. Joyce about 1899.

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 1904 J. B. Joyce moved to Station Road, Whitchurch. 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] 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 right 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
The Custom House, Shanghai, seen from the Huangpu River.

United Kingdom

England

Wales

Worldwide

See also

References
  1. Lyman, Ian P. (2004). Railway clocks. Mayfield Books. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-9540525-6-0. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
  2. Rowell, Rebecca (2009). "2". Randolph Caldecott: Renowned British Illustrator. Publishing Pioneers. ABDO Group. p. 21. ISBN 978-1-60453-760-4. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
  3. White, Barrie (16 September 2017). "Whitchurch's very own horology legends come under the spotlight in Bygones". Whitchurch Herald. Whitchurch: Chester Chronicle and Associated Newspapers. ISSN 0962-4414. OCLC 1064604503. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  4. "Councillors to tidy up round Churchill clock". Cheddar Valley Gazette. 7 October 1976. p. 3. 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.
  5. Smith of Derby Ltd (2021). "Our Group of Companies". smithofderby.com. Derby. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  6. Broad, Gill (10 January 2012). "J B Joyce facing restructuring process". Whitchurch Herald. Whitchurch: Chester Chronicle and Associated Newspapers. ISSN 0962-4414. OCLC 1064604503. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  7. "Book Charts the History of World-Famous Clockmakers". Whitchurch Herald. Whitchurch: 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.
  8. Broad, Gill (16 January 2014). "New chapter for J B Joyce building". Whitchurch Herald. Whitchurch: Chester Chronicle and Associated Newspapers. ISSN 0962-4414. OCLC 1064604503. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  9. 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.
  10. Chopra, Askiran (30 November 2017). "What it means for Landour to see its historic Ghantaghar return". DailyO. Landour: India Today. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  11. 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.
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