Recent London Lectures

January 2024

'The Condliff Family: Four Generations of Clockmakers – Their Lives and Business Discovered', by Darlah Thomas
Held at St Mary-at-Hill and online via Zoom
AHS members can watch a recording of this lecture here.

November 2023

'The Technical Legacy of Thomas Mudge ', by Jonathan Betts
Held at St Mary-at-Hill and online via Zoom
AHS members can watch a recording of this lecture here.

September 2023

'The Mechanical Inventions of Abraham Louis Breguet', by Andrew Crisford
Held at St Mary-at-Hill and online via Zoom
This lecture was delivered in place of the previously advertised talk by Sibylle Gluch, which unavoidably had to be cancelled. Details not available owing to short notice.

AHS members can watch a recording of this lecture here.

July 2023

'Dismantling the ‘East School’: Edward East and the Trade in Clocks Between Makers in Seventeenth-Century London', by Richard Newton
Held at St Mary-at-Hill and online via Zoom
AHS members can watch a recording of this lecture here.

March 2023

'Clockmaking and practical mathematics in the provinces of England and France, 1500–1800', by Anthony Turner
Held at St Mary-at-Hill and online via Zoom
AHS members can watch a recording of this lecture here.

January 2023

'William Hogarth: Time's Artist', by Patricia Fara
Held at St Mary-at-Hill and online via Zoom
AHS members can watch a recording of this lecture here.

November 2022

'Chronometry and Chronometers on British Voyages of Exploration, c.1815–1836', by Emily Akkermans
Held at St Mary-at-Hill and online via Zoom
AHS members can watch a recording of this lecture here.

September 2022

'Jonathan Paine: "Inventor of the illuminating dials"', by James Nye
Held at St Mary-at-Hill and online via Zoom
This lecture was delivered in place of the previously advertised talk by Rossella Baldi, which unavoidably had to be cancelled. Details not available owing to short notice.

AHS members can watch a recording of this lecture here.

July 2022

'Engine-Turning and the English Pocket Watch-Case Industry, 1800–Present', by Seth Kennedy
Held at St Mary-at-Hill and online via Zoom
AHS members can watch a recording of this lecture here.

March 2022

'Chronometric Challenges: George Biddell Airy’s Greenwich Staff and Horology', by Daniel Belteki
Held at St Mary-at-Hill and online via Zoom
AHS members can watch a recording of this lecture here.

January 2022

'British Clock Towers as Monuments of Memorialisation, 1836–Present', by Mike Bundock
Held online via Zoom
AHS members can watch a recording of this lecture here.

November 2021

'Keeping Time: a Short History of Clock and Watch Maintenance', by Jonathan Betts
Held at St Mary-at-Hill and online via Zoom
AHS members can watch a recording of this lecture here.

September 2021

'Synchronising Time in Austria: The Pneumatic Clocks of Carl Albert Mayrhofer', by Johannes Graf
Held online via Zoom
AHS members can watch a recording of this lecture here.

July 2021

'About Time: A History of Civilization in Twelve Clocks', by David Rooney
Held at 4 Lovat Lane and online via Zoom
AHS members can watch a recording of this lecture here.

March 2021

'The Jaquet-Droz Workshop and its Suppliers in the 18th Century', by Sandrine Girardier
Held online via Zoom
AHS members can watch a recording of this lecture here.

January 2021

'Johann Antel: Revolutionising Time in Early-Twentieth Century Brno' by James Nye
Held online via Zoom
AHS members can watch a recording of this lecture here.

November 2020

'Hills Brothers, Watchmakers, Jewellers and Postmaster: a Personal History' by Jonathan Hills
Held online via Zoom
AHS members and non-members can watch a recording of this lecture here.

September 2020

'The Timex Formula: Joakim Lehmkuhl, Scientific Management and Timex watches', by Frode Weium
This lecture was postponed to a future date.

July 2020

'The Jaquet-Droz Workshop and its Suppliers in the 18th Century' by Sandrine Girardier
This lecture was postponed to March 2021.

March 2020

January 2020

'The Amazing Aynsworth Thwaites' by Keith Scobie-Youngs
Held at St Mary-at-Hill, City of London

November 2019

'Levellers and Latten Workers – Some Light Among the Lanterns on Lothbury' by Caitlin Doherty and James Nye
Held at St Margaret Lothbury, City of London

September 2019

'Four Watches, Four Women: Research on Women in Horological Businesses in Britain 1800–1930' by Su Fullwood and Geoff Allnutt
Held at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Westminster

July 2019

'The Nature of Uniqueness Between Vintage and Modern Wristwatch Markets' by Andrew Hildreth
Held at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Westminster

March 2019

'Internal Clocks and the Human Perception of Time: History, Development, and Current Status' by John Wearden
Held at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Westminster

January 2019

'Capturing Time: Photography and the Measurement of Time in the 19th Century' by Geoff Belknap
Held at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Westminster

November 2018

‘Time before the Oscillator: Horology in the 13th Century Manuscripts of the Libros del Saber’ by Sebastian Whitestone
Held at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Westminster

September 2018

The Knibb Clocks of the University of St Andrews and the Origins of the Tic-Tac Escapement’ by John Redfern
Held at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Westminster

July 2018

‘Staking a Claim to "Practical Science": the Clockmakers Versus the Spectacle Makers in the Long 18th Century’ by Rebekah Higgitt
Held at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Westminster

March 2018

"The Lines, Which Are So Very Fine": John Harrison, William Hogarth and the Trouble With Drawing a Line of Longitude’ by Katy Barrett
Held at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Westminster

January 2018

‘How To Make an Atomic Clock’ by Helen Margolis
Held at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Westminster

November 2017

‘Berlin or Birmingham: Finding a Market for the Black Forest Clock’ by Richard Constable
Held at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Westminster

September 2017

'The Antikythera Mechanism and Mechanical Universes' by Professor Mike Edmunds
Held at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Westminster

July 2017

'Edward John Dent’s Glass Springs: a Historical and Artefactual Study' by Jenny Bulstrode
Held at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Westminster

March 2017

‘Casing Watches and Automata: The Goldworkers and Enamellers of Geneva’ by Julia Clarke
Held at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Westminster

January 2017

‘The Politics of Precision: Standard Time and Violent Protest, 1884–1914’, by David Rooney
Held at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Westminster

November 2016

'The Making of the Modern Clock and Watch Dial, 1550-1770', by Jane Desborough
Held at Cannon Place, City of London

September 2016

'Galileo, Huygens and the Invention of the Pendulum Clock' by Sebastian Whitestone
Held at Cannon Place, City of London

July 2016

'Engine Turning and Horology: History, Machines and Techniques' by David Wood-Heath
Held at Cannon Place, City of London

March 2016

'Metals for Horology: a History of the Brass and Related Industries' by Angus Patterson
Held at Cannon Place, City of London

January 2016

'Sundials: History, Art, People and Science' by Sir Mark Lennox-Boyd
Held at Cannon Place, City of London

November 2015

'Frogs, Frequencies and Forks: The Bulova Accutron and the Tuning Fork as a Time Standard' by Andrew Nahum
Held at the Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House

September 2015

'Insights into the Horological Trade in Georgian London: Evidence from Old Bailey Trials' by David Bryden
Held at the Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House

July 2015

'Exhibiting Horology Across the Channel: International Exhibitions in London and Paris 1850-1870' by Françoise Collanges
Held at the Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House

March 2015

'New Light on Chronometer-Makers and the Instrument Trades' by Gloria Clifton
Held at the Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House

January 2015

'Almost at a Single Glance: Visualisation of Historic Time in the Eighteenth Century' by Stephen Boyd Davis
Held at the Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House

November 2014

'Learning from the Artefact: the Marine Chronometers at Greenwich' by Jonathan Betts
Held at the Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House

September 2014

'The Speaking Clock in the History of Public Relations' by David Rooney
Held at the Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House

July 2014

'The Faking of English Watches' by David Penney
Held at the Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House

March 2014

‘The Turret Clocks of Salisbury, Wells and Rye’ by Keith Scobie-Youngs
Held at the Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House

January 2014

Observatory Time by Radio by David Read
Held at the Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House

November 2013

‘Justin Vulliamy and the Swiss Community – Networking in 18th-century London’ by Roger Smith
Held at the Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House

September 2013

‘The Time Ball at Greenwich’ by Douglas Bateman
Held at the Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House

July 2013

‘Bahne Bonniksen and the karrusel watch revisited’ by Clare Woodward
Held at the Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House

May 2013

'Decimal Clocks and Ten-Day Weeks: the French Republican Calendar' by Matthew Shaw
Held at the Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House

January 2013

‘James Short, telescope-maker, and his support for chronometer-maker John Harrison’ by Jim Bennett
Held at the Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House

November 2012

'Bankruptcy and insolvency in the English horological trade, 1720-1849' by David Bryden
Held at the Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House

September 2012

'Clocks for the Transits of Venus' by Matthew Read
Held at the Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House

July 2012

'A Good Time in Berlin - the remarkable clocks of Normal-Zeit' by James Nye
Held at the Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House

March 2012

'The Great Collectors: J. Pierpont Morgan' by David Thompson
Held at the Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House

January 2012

Special Event - First meeting at Burlington House
Held at the Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House

November 2011

'George Graham, Watchmaker' by Rory McEvoy
Held at the Swedenborg Society, Bloomsbury

September 2011

'The Life and Times of Edward East' by Oliver Cooke
Held at the Swedenborg Society, Bloomsbury

July 2011

'The Great Knibb' by Andrew King
Held at the Swedenborg Society, Bloomsbury

March 2011

'The Gretton Project' by Dennis Radage
Held at the Swedenborg Society, Bloomsbury

January 2011

'The horological collector Revd. Henry Leonard Nelthropp' by David Thompson
Held at the Swedenborg Society, Bloomsbury

November 2010

'Hope and Glory: a horological battle for survival, 1910-1945' by Philip Whyte and Richard Stenning
Held at the Swedenborg Society, Bloomsbury

September 2010

'Ahasuerus Fromanteel and the early pendulum clock' by Rebecca Pohancenik
Held at the Swedenborg Society, Bloomsbury

July 2010

'The Bowes Swan' by Matthew Read
Held at the Swedenborg Society, Bloomsbury

March 2010

'Researching & writing 'Shaping the Day' by Paul Glennie and Nigel Thrift
Held at the Swedenborg Society, Bloomsbury

January 2010

'William Edwards Miller' by David Thompson
Held at the Swedenborg Society, Bloomsbury

November 2009

'The Great Clock of Westminster' by Chris McKay
Held at the Swedenborg Society, Bloomsbury