Joyce Turret Clock Manufacturers, Whitchurch

Image: © Colin Park Taken: 18 Sep 2020

From Wikipedia;- William Joyce began in the North Shropshire village of Cockshutt making longcase clocks. The family business was handed down from father to son and in 1790 moved to High Street, Whitchurch, Shropshire. In 1904 J. B. Joyce moved to Station Road, Whitchurch. In 1834 Thomas Joyce made large clocks for local churches and public buildings. In 1849 the company copied the Big Ben escapement designed by Lord Grimthorpe. The firm made large clocks for many public buildings, both at home and overseas, and for some of the principal railway companies. Since 1945 the company installed over 2,000 large public clocks in Britain and Ireland, the majority being the synchronous mains-controlled type and a high proportion installed in churches. In 1964, Norman Joyce, the last member of the Joyce family, retired and sold the company to Smith of Derby. During the 1970s, many clocks were changed to electric motors made by the new Smith parent company, thereby losing a heritage of mechanical clocks. The J. B. Joyce brand name has been upheld by Smith, who now maintain many original J. B. Joyce heritage pieces still in operation in public places around the world.

Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0