1. Thomas Tompion, FRS was an English clockmaker, watchmaker and mechanician who is still regarded to this day as the "Father of English Clockmaking".
11 Facts About Thomas Tompion
1. 2.
Thomas Tompion was the eldest son of a blacksmith, named Thomas Tompion, and probably worked as a blacksmith until 1664 when he became an apprentice of a London clockmaker.
3.
Thomas Tompion's early clockmaking style shows a strong connection with Joseph Knibb.
4.
Hooke's relationship with Thomas Tompion was the key to his success, as it opened doors to royal patronage as well as giving him access to the latest technology.
5.
Thomas Tompion's excellence was based on the sound design of his productions as well as the high quality of the materials used.
6.
The final form of balance spring arrangement used by Thomas Tompion was a plain spiral with a single balance, indeed the same arrangement employed by Christiaan Huygens in watches made for him by Thuret.
7.
Thomas Tompion must have soon found this rather optimistic surmise was however incorrect, as all Thomas Tompion's subsequent spiral balance spring movements have fusees, and this design became the standard pattern in English watches throughout the 17th and 18th centuries.
8.
Thomas Tompion's clocks are known for their ingenuity of design and robust construction.
9.
Thomas Tompion went into partnership with Edward Banger in 1701 until about 1707 or 1708, when it was dissolved in circumstances which are not at all clear.
10.
Thomas Tompion is one of the statues of craftsmen set on the Exhibition Road facade of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington.
11.
In Elizabeth Goudge's 1960 novel The Dean's Watch, Thomas Tompion is remembered reverently by the clockmaker Isaac Peabody.