This John Davis Clock sits in the main hallway of Clifton House. We hadn’t been sure how it had ended up in Clifton House.
John Davis of Windsor was a multi-generational clock maker from Windsor and they were hugely successful clock-makers and locksmiths. The supplied locks and clocks to Eton College and Baylis House in Slough. They were very well regarded in their field of expertise.
The family tree is as follows:
John Davis, grandfather (1650-1713) John Davis, father (1690 – 1762) John Davis, son (1722 -1801). This lineage of the same names makes it difficult to date our clock, but experts believe it to be 1745 – 1779.
We knew it was possible the clock pre-dated Clifton House as it was not finished until 1774, but it still didn’t answer the question of where it came from. I was recently going through Minute Books looking for provenance on some of our chairs when I came across an entry. “Lt Col Garner reported that Miss Hoskins who is a resident, has given a John Davis long case clock as a gift to Clifton House.” (12th June 1978)
Mystery solved!! The clock may pre-date the house, but the Belfast Charitable Society have only been in possession of the clock since 1978. Now the hunt continues for the rest of the furniture. I will keep you updated on progress. #MuseumWeek