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Joseph Knibb (1640–1711) was an English clockmaker of the Restoration era. According to author Herbert Cescinsky, a leading authority on English clocks, Knibb, "next to
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, must be regarded as the greatest horologist of his time."


Life and work

He was born in 1640, the fifth son of Thomas Knibb,
yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century also witn ...
of Claydon. He was cousin to Samuel Knibb, clockmaker, to whom he may have been apprenticed in about 1655. After serving his seven years he moved to
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
in 1663, the year Samuel moved to London. Knibb set up premises in
St Clement's, Oxford St Clement's is a district in Oxford, England, on the east bank of the River Cherwell. "St Clement's" is usually taken to describe a small triangular area from The Plain bounded by the Cherwell in the West, Cowley Road in the East. to the foot ...
, where he was outside the city liberties. In 1665 or 1666 he moved to premises in Holywell Street, which was within the city liberties. The freemen of the city objected to his presence, demanding that he "suddenly shut his windows" because he was not a freeman of the city. Knibb applied for the Freedom of Oxford twice in 1667 but on both occasions the smiths and watchmakers of the city objected and he was refused. In February 1668 he was finally admitted to the freedom in a compromise arrangement in which he was officially recorded as being employed by Trinity College, Oxford as a gardener and paid a fine of 20
nobles Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...
(£6.13s.4d.) and a leather bucket. In 1669
Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy ...
had a new turret clock built and from 1671 to 1721 Knibb's younger brother
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was paid £1 per year to maintain it. It is the earliest surviving clock with an anchor escapement, and may even be the first such clock ever built. In 1954 the
antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...
horologist Dr. C.F.C. Beeson proposed the theory that Joseph Knibb had built the clock. Beeson's theory has since become widely accepted. By 1670 Knibb had moved to London where he was made free of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers. Initially he set up business at the Dyal, near Serjeant's Inn in
Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was n ...
, subsequently moving to the House at the Dyal, in Suffolk Street. He was elected as a
steward Steward may refer to: Positions or roles * Steward (office), a representative of a monarch * Steward (Methodism), a leader in a congregation and/or district * Steward, a person responsible for supplies of food to a college, club, or other ins ...
of the Clockmakers Company in August 1684 and assistant in July 1689. He retired from London in 1697 and went to live in
Hanslope Hanslope is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority area of the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The village is about west northwest of Newport Pagnell, about north of Stony Stratford and north of Central Milton ...
in
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...
, where he continued to make clocks until his death in 1711.


Reputation and legacy

Joseph Knibb is renowned for both the quality of his work and his invention. The aesthetic beauty and simplicity of his work is unparalleled. Among his many inventions was the system of Roman striking, the
tic-tac escapement Tic-tac (also tick-tack and non-hyphenated variants) is a traditional method of signs used by bookmakers to communicate the odds of certain horses. Until the turn of the 21st century it was a very common sight on racecourses in the UK, but with t ...
, and probably the anchor escapement. His merits were recognised by his being appointed clockmaker to Charles II and then to James II. Clock cases of Knibb's era were wooden, and therefore were made by specialist clockcase makers who were members of the
Worshipful Company of Joiners and Ceilers The Worshipful Company of Joiners and Ceilers is one of the livery companies in the City of London. The Guild of St James Garlickhythe, the company's predecessor, named after the church where it was founded, was formed in 1375. The organization ...
. The politician
Richard Legh Richard Legh (7 May 1634 – 31 August 1687) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1656 and 1678. Legh was the son of Rev. Thomas Legh, DD of Cheshire and rector of Sefton and Walton, Lancashire. He inheri ...
(1635–87) wrote to his wife describing Knibb's advice on choosing a case for a longcase clock:
''I went to the famous Pendulum maker Knibb, and have agreed for one, he having none ready but a dull stager which was at £19; for £5 more I have agreed for one finer than my Father's, and it is to be better furnished with carved capitalls gold, and gold pedestalls with figures of boys and
cherub A cherub (; plural cherubim; he, כְּרוּב ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'', likely borrowed from a derived form of akk, 𒅗𒊏𒁍 ''karabu'' "to bless" such as ''karibu'', "one who blesses", a name for the lamassu) is one of the ...
imes all brass gilt. I wold have had itt
Olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ' ...
Wood, (the Case I mean), but gold does not agree with that colour, soe took their advice to have it black
Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when ...
which suits your Cabinett better than Walnut tree wood, of which they are mostly made. Lett me have thy advice by the next.''
Legh's young wife, Elizabeth, replied in agreement: ''"My dearest Soule; as for the Pandolome Case I think Blacke suits anything"''. Joseph Knibb is the most accomplished of an extended family of clockmakers that included his cousin Samuel and Joseph's younger brother John. A younger cousin Peter Knibb (1651–79) from
Farnborough, Warwickshire Farnborough is a village and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. It is located on the border with Oxfordshire, around 6 miles (10 km) north of Banbury. The population taken at the 2011 census was 2 ...
was apprenticed to Joseph in 1668 and became a freeman of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers in 1677. John Knibb's youngest son, also called Joseph (1695–1722) was apprenticed in London in 1710 and received a substantial bequest from the elder Joseph Knibb's will in 1712. Another cousin, Elizabeth Knibb from Collingtree,
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It ...
, married another clockmaker, Samuel Aldworth, in 1703. Aldworth had been in Oxford as John Knibb's apprentice and then assistant. In 1697 Aldworth moved from Oxford to London to succeed Joseph Knibb on the latter's retirement to Hanslope. On 26 September 2010 the Oxfordshire Blue Plaques Board unveiled a
blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term ...
at Claydon to Samuel, Joseph and John Knibb. On 6 November 2012
Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...
sold a small Roman striking table clock by Knibb from the George Daniels collection for £1,273,250.


References


Sources

* * * * * * * *Numerous articles and references in ''Antiquarian Horology'', quarterly journal of the
Antiquarian Horological Society The Antiquarian Horological Society, abbreviated to AHS, is the UK-based learned society for scholars and enthusiasts of horology. Its administrative office is at 4 Lovat Lane, a listed building close to the Monument, in the City of London. In earl ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knibb, Joseph 1640 births 1711 deaths English clockmakers People from Cherwell District