28 June 2021
The Master welcomed members of the Company from the UK and overseas to the Inaugural Sampson Shelton Lecture that was delivered via Zoom on Monday 28th June 2021.
Emeritus Keeper of the Clockmakers' Museum, Past Master Sir George White Bt. introduced what will become an annual lecture, sharing with us its purpose, to honour and remember the Company's benefactors to whom we owe so much and explaining why the lecture will be forever known as the Sampson Shelton Lecture.
We were then joined by Chris Jones, the Curator of the Salomons Museum, who introduced us to the subject of the inaugural lecture, the polymath, Sir David Salomons Bt. (elected to the Freedom and Livery of the Company in 1921 and as Court Assistant in 1924)
Chris was followed by the Renter Warden, Jane Pedler, who gave a wonderfully illustrated talk on Sir David and his cars. The Curator of the Clockmakers' Museum, Anna Rolls, bravely and superbly battled through technical challenges to share with us some of the items that Sir David left to the Company that are displayed in the Museum.
The lecture was drawn to a close by the Master who took us through the fascinating history of the Masters' chain of office.
