Longcase clock by William Rust, 21 Market Place, Hull, c.1806-1810
Everything on this clock face, including the numbers, has been hand painted. There are painted flowers in the corners and a scene showing a country cottage in the arch. Painted dials were often decorated with countryside scenes.
Painted clock dials were fashionable from the 1780s. They replaced brass dials, which were popular until the 1770s. Instead of painted pictures, decorative brass castings were fitted into the corners and arch of brass dials.
This clock was made by William Rust of Hull. William was a clock and watch maker and goldsmith. He had premises at 21 Market Place in 1791-1792 and 1806-1823.
Clocks and watches were made in Hull and East Yorkshire from the early 1700s. Hull had no clockmakersâ guild to regulate and record the trade, so itâs difficult to find out about local clock making. Information about the craft comes from surviving examples, newspapers and trade directories. Trade directories were a kind of old fashioned Yellow Pages.
The parts needed to make a clock are the dial, movements (the mechanism that tells the time) and case. Some local craftsmen had the skills to make all of these parts. Other âclockmakersâ bought ready made parts and marked their name on the clock. Many of the cases for these clocks were probably still made in East Yorkshire, which had a number of skilled joiners.
Local demand for clocks supported several makers. In the 1700s there were around six clockmakers in Hull at any one time. Local clockmakers were influenced by London styles. Many Hull makers made copies of high quality London clocks, or they made cheaper cases, depending on their customerâs budget.
Purchased by Hull Museums with assistance from the V&A Purchase Grant Fund.
