JB Joyce & Co

JB Joyce & Co, established 1690 is the oldest clock manufacturer in the world. A claim rivalled by another English firm of clockmakers Thwaites & Reed who claim to have been in continuous manufacture since before 1740 with antecedents to 1610. They have been part of the Smith of Derby Group since 1965.

The company was founded by William Joyce in North Shropshire, where he made longcase clocks. In 1849 the company began manufacturing the double three-legged gravity escapement designed by Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe. In 1904 J B Joyce moved the company to its current premises.

William Joyce began in the North Shropshire village of Cockshutt. The family business was handed down from Father to Son and eventually in 1790 moved to Whitchurch. They operated from premises in High Street and in 1834 Thomas Joyce embarked upon making large clocks for local churches and public buildings. In 1849 the Company was instrumental in manufacturing a double three-legged gravity escapement after the design of Lord Grimthorpe. The firm won contracts for large clocks for many public buildings, both at home and overseas. The company also made clocks for some of the principal railway companies but many clocks seem to have been changed to electric motors during the decade pf the 1970s losing a heritage of mechanical clocks. Compare with Turret Clocks, and the AHS. One of the best loved examples is the Chester Eastgate clock which was fully restored and re-gilded to its original style for its centenary in 1997. In 1904 J B Joyce moved premises again to a purpose built factory in Station Road, from where it has continued to operate to this day. Since 1945 the company has installed over 2000 large public clocks in the British Isles, the majority being the synchronous mains controlled type and a high proportion installed in churches.

Notable clocks

*Chester Eastgate Clock
*Customs House, Shanghai
*Tredegar Town Clock