More
About Us
It was a love of the sound of a ticking grandfather (tallcase)
clock that gave Jan Trueman and her husband Paul an idea 15 years ago to begin
collecting them. Eventually they began Wiltshire Clocks, buying, restoring and
selling antique clocks and barometers, most of which originated in Wiltshire,
England, or nearby between 1730 and 1850.
Jan,
who grew up in Wiltshire, and now lives in Erlestoke, near Devizes, has an interest
in local history and wanted to have a piece of furniture that was decorative but
was also a working artefact.
"We
had always had an interest in Wiltshire and its history, largely because we were
both born and bred here," said Jan. "We bought our first grandfather
clock because we liked the homely steady ticking sound and we wanted a piece of
antique furniture. Later, we came across local clocks and found that these brought
both interests together.
"Clocks are almost unique amongst antique
items in that almost all of them bear the maker’s name and the place of origin.
"Having started a number of years ago to collect clocks from Wiltshire,
we have decided to sell them to people wishing to own an aesthetic working piece
of local history. We sell clocks to local people and to people living elsewhere
- often abroad - who require a clock that ties in to their family origins, and
to those who just want a good investment.
"One
lady from Virginia in America had relations who came from near Devizes so she
came over and bought a clock from us to remind her of Wiltshire," said Jan.
"We travel all over the country in search of clocks to “bring back home”
after they started life in Wiltshire perhaps 200 or more years ago. The clocks
are restored by professional craftsmen whose families have been clockmakers for
generations. We take immense satisfaction in finding and preserving this aspect
of Wiltshire’s history.
"Because the Wiltshire clocks seem
to be easier to sell than find, we often have clocks from other regions, but especially
the West Country. We are often asked to find clocks from specific towns both in
Wiltshire and elsewhere. We are happy to do this and whilst successful, it is
not always a quick process, but we keep a constant eye on what clocks are becoming
available."
Some
of the clocks are on display at "Original Glory", a shop in Long Street,
Devizes. The
clocks - technically known as longcase or tallcase clocks - range from simple
oak cottage clocks of the Georgian period to elaborate mahogany pieces of the
early Victorian. Clocks made in this period varied from region to region and so
the ones made in Wiltshire have their own distinctive style.
Jan
and Paul both travel around the country looking for clocks made in Wiltshire and
have found ones from Devizes, Salisbury, Calne, Marlborough, Malmesbury and Warminster,
among other places. Wherever they buy them, their aim is to restore these clocks
so that that magically ticking sound can be heard once more.
Return
to previous About Us page
Back
to top
