Welsh Journals

RADNORSHIRE CLOCK AND WATCHMAKERS. An Enquiry from Colonel Drage, The Gables, Norton. LET me relate the concatenation of circumstances which have led me to address this enquiry to fellow-members of the Radnorshire Society and readers :­ An advertisement appeared in The Times for a copy of a book TIME AND TIME TELLERS." I found a copy of this little book in my library (J. W. Benson 1st Edition 1875 2nd. 1902) dealing with the earliest horologe or hour measurer of which history makes mention and telling us something of the progress made in the making of time- keepers from the non-portable kind to the chronometer and meridian watch which shows the time of day in any number of places in any part of the world. There is also some mention of sun-dials, and here I approach the subject of my enquiry. Shortly after finding the book I received my 1945 copy of the Radnorshire Society's Transactions. On page 53 I found a list of the names of some clock and watchmakers working in Radnorshire in the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries. This interested me. I remember that after the war of 1914-1918, it was impossible, or nearly so, to find a watch repairer and regulator. They had apparently all been killed or disabled. It is much the same now and my clocks and watches are either out of repair or gain or lose. Our Church clock is by no means reliable and I am not always able to hear Big Ben on my wireless owing to much interference. As I lay awake this morning trying to make out from several clocks what really was the correct time, a ray of Sunshine came through my window. My thoughts turned to sun-dials and how nice it would be to have one on my lawn in front, and with luck get solar time to reset my clocks now and again. Also, I thought of the predecessors of those men listed in the Transactions. Did they make sun-dials and what method of