Museum & Archive

The origins of the Museum's collection can be traced back to 1814, with the establishment of a library of important horological books by the Clockmakers' Company.

The following year the great clockmaker Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy acquired three examples of horological objects from the property sale of the late clockmaker Alexander Cumming, which he donated to the Clockmakers' library. In 1816, as more object 'specimens' were donated, the Library Committee expressed its interest in acquiring more examples of work by the early clock and watchmakers in order to document the history of the profession, and in doing so laid the foundations of what has now grown to be the Clockmakers' Museum.

By the 1870’s the Company had concerns about the lack of space available for it to organise and display the collection in a suitable manner, as well as the difficulty in enabling access for its members to the collection and library. A decision was made to deposit both assets within the new Library and Museum at the Guildhall, which opened its doors to the public in 1873. The Museum stayed within the Guildhall complex for the next 141 years, until its closure at that location in 2014.

In 2015 the Clockmakers' Museum moved its collection to the Science Museum in South Kensington, where it occupies a gallery on the second floor. Although housed within the Science Museum, it remains an independent museum, accredited in its own right by Arts Council England. The Company's library and archive still remains at the Guildhall Library. A list of former Librarians, Curators and Keepers can be found here.