4041.1

Longcase Clock, 'R Trevor Topsham', time and high tide at Topsham Bar. 216cm(h). Longcase clocks with a dial showing High Water at Topsham Bar were a speciality of the Exeter clock makers during the second half of the 18th C. This was due to the importance of deep water for Exeter merchants as their shipping used the river and the Exeter Shipping Canal which was entered just above Topsham. The Topsham Bar itself was nearer the mouth of the river. The clock was for many years kept in the Boardroom of Fox Brothers. Thomas Fox (1747 -1821) used to ride down to Topsham several hours after sending a consignment of cloth for shipment and used the clock to estimate when he should follow the wagons.

4041.1

clock
tide

Trevor Richard

Artefact