Reuben Bosworth (ca.1797 – 26 July 1883) was a watch and clockmaker in Nottingham.

Life

He was born around 1797 in

Smisby Smisby is an ancient manor, civil parish and small village in South Derbyshire, England. It is from Melbourne and near the Leicestershire border

, Derbyshire. He married late in life in 1856 to Sarah. He was a watchmaker and clockmaker in Nottingham. He was apprenticed

John Whitehurst John Whitehurst FRS (10 April 1713 – 18 February 1788), born in Cheshire, England, was a clockmaker and scientist, and made significant early contributions to geology. He was an influential member of the Lunar Society. Life and work Whi ...

in Derby, and then moved to Nottingham and succeeded William Hall, taking over his duties in regulating and winding the Nottingham Town Hall clock in 1833. In the financial year 1 September 1842 to 1 September 1843 it was reported that he received the annual salary of £18 18s. 0d (equivalent to £ in ) for winding up and regulating the Exchange and Town-hall clocks. In 1842 he was employed by the Leicester corporation to illuminate the Exchange clock at Leicester with a single plate of glass, which would be the largest in the East Midlands. In the ''Nottingham Review'' of 15 March 1844, an article appeared praising his work.

The Exchange Clock. We beg to draw the attention of our readers to the superior performance of this time keeper. The clock was made by Mr. Reuben Bosworth….and to such great accuracy has Mr. Bosworth regulated its rate of going, that, from the second of November last to the present time arch 1844a period of four months, it has not varied half a minute.

He made turret clocks, some of which are still found in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, wall clocks which he sold to the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It ama ...

which were used in railway offices and signal boxes, and longcase clocks and watches. It is suggested that some of his turret clock business was taken over in 1845 by G. & F. Cope. He died on 26 July 1883 leaving £7,861 3s 9d. (equivalent to £ in ) to his wife.

Works

He produced turret clocks for the following buildings: * Nottingham Exchange 1837 *

Priory Church of St. Peter, Thurgarton The Priory Church of St Peter, Thurgarton is a former house of Canons Regular or "Black Canons" and now a Church of England church in Thurgarton, Nottinghamshire, England. They were called "Black Canons" because they wore Black Cassocks, Bla ...

St Peter's Church, Nottingham St Peter's Church, formally The Church of St Peter with St James, is an Anglican parish church in the city centre of Nottingham, England. It is part of the parish of All Saints', St Mary's and St Peter's, Nottingham. The church is Grade I lis ...

1847 * St Lawrence's Church, Gotham 1848 *

St James' Church, Shardlow St James’ Church, Shardlow is a Grade II listed parish church in the Church of England in Shardlow, Derbyshire. History The foundation stone was laid on 14 August 1837 by James Sutton Esq. The foundation stone was laid over a cavity containin ...

1852 * St Swithun's Church, Woodborough, 1854 * St Michael's Church, Sutton Bonington 1860 *

All Saints' Church, Cotgrave All Saints’ Church is a Grade I listed Church of England parish in the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham in Cotgrave. History The church dates from the 12th century, and was restored between 1877 and 1878 by Evans and Jolley. An arson atta ...

1865 *

St. Stephen's Church, Sneinton St. Stephen's Church, Sneinton is a parish church in the Church of England. The church is Grade II listed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport as it is a building of special architectural or historic interest. The parents of ...

, 1865 * St James the Apostle's Church, Bonsall 1865 *

St. Mary's Church, Arnold St. Mary's Church is a parish church in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, England. Though there is no official founding date, it is estimated that the church dates back to 1176 and written records commenced in 1544. The church is Grade II* listed b ...

, 1867 * St Mary and All Saints' Church, Hawksworth ca. 1867 * All Saints' Church, Collingham, 1867 *Lambert's Factory, Nottingham * St Mary's Church, Clifton * All Saints' Church, Strelley 1868 * St Katherine's Church, Teversal 1876 * Nottingham Mechanics' Institution 1877

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bosworth, Reuben English clockmakers People from Nottingham 1790s births 1883 deaths People from South Derbyshire District Turret clock makers of the United Kingdom