Joseph Windmills (c.1640 – 1724), was an eminent London watch- and clockmaker who, with his son Thomas, produced outstanding timepieces between 1671 and 1737. Joseph was born around 1640/1650 and his origins are uncertain. In his first years as clockmaker, his workshop was located in

St Martin's Le Grand St. Martin's Le Grand is a former liberty (division), liberty within the City of London, and is the name of a street north of Newgate, Newgate Street and Cheapside and south of Aldersgate, Aldersgate Street. It forms the southernmost section of ...

, and his house was in Blow Bladder Street, before moving to Mark Lane End in Tower Street in 1687. In 1699 he was elected as the youngest Warden of the

Clockmakers' Company The Worshipful Company of Clockmakers was established under a Royal Charter granted by King Charles I in 1631. It ranks sixty-first among the livery companies of the City of London, and comes under the jurisdiction of the Privy Council. The ...

, and sat on committees alongside

Thomas Tompion Thomas Tompion, FRS (1639–1713) was an English clockmaker, watchmaker and mechanician who is still regarded to this day as the "Father of English Clockmaking". Tompion's work includes some of the most historic and important clocks and watc ...

, preceding him as Master of the Company in 1702, as well as alongside

Charles Gretton Charles Gretton was an English clock and watchmaker during the golden age of English clockmaking. Early life Gretton was baptised in Claypole, Lincolnshire, on 24 January 1647/48. He was possibly the third youngest of nine or ten children. His ...

(Master of the Company in 1700). His son Thomas completed his apprenticeship, subsequently working as a journeyman, and free of the Clockmakers' Company in about 1695. Thomas also served as Master of the Company, in 1718. The partnership J & T Windmills also took over Thomas Tompion's clock maintenance contract at the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

and at

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

and other Crown contracts. Windmills was regarded as one of the finest clockmakers in seventeenth century London, producing a large number of

lantern clock A lantern clock is a type of antique weight-driven wall clock, shaped like a lantern. They were the first type of clock widely used in private homes. They probably originated before 1500 but only became common after 1600. They became obsolete in ...

bracket clock A bracket clock is a style of antique portable table clock made in the 17th and 18th centuries. The term originated with small weight-driven pendulum clocks (sometimes called 'true bracket clocks') that had to be mounted on a bracket on the wall ...

s, longcase clocks and pocket watches. His earliest watch, displayed in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

, was made before 1680 and did not make use of a balance spring. Thomas Tompion's sprung balance transformed the pocket watch from ornamental item into an accurate timepiece. Joseph's last recorded attendance at the Court of the Clockmakers' Company was on 24 October 1723, ending a membership of more than thirty-two years. He died in 1724, having spent fifty-two years at his trade. Thomas then ran the company until his death in 1737. Thomas died childless and thus was the last of the Windmills' male line. The name "J & T Windmills" is currently used by a watchmaker with no links to the original father-and-son team.

Bibliography

*Neale, J.A.: ''"Joseph and Thomas Windmills Clock and Watch Makers 1671 - 1737"'', 1999.

External links

Online GalleriesThe Gretton Project
Research endeavour and book (''THROUGH THE GOLDEN AGE – Charles Gretton – Watch and Clockmaking'', published 2016) about renowned clockmaker and watchmaker

(1648–1731), a contemporary of Windmills and, like him, active in the

Worshipful Company of Clockmakers The Worshipful Company of Clockmakers was established under a Royal Charter granted by King Charles I in 1631. It ranks sixty-first among the livery companies of the City of London, and comes under the jurisdiction of the Privy Council. The ...

. The book contains a substantial historical introduction as well as historical appendices that provide details about clockmaking and watchmaking in London in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, which readers interested in Joseph Windmills and his era may find useful.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Windmills, Joseph English clockmakers category:Clock manufacturing companies of the United Kingdom Defunct watchmaking companies English watchmakers (people) 1724 deaths 1640s births Masters of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers