Countdown to keep British inventor’s iconic clock in the UK starts now

071/2008
7 July 2008

Culture Minister Margaret Hodge has placed a temporary export bar on a clock system designed by the internationally renowned British clock designer William Hamilton Shortt. This will provide a last chance to raise the money to keep Shortt’s own personal clock system, on which he conducted experiments for nearly half a century, in the United Kingdom.

The Minister’s ruling follows a recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest, administered by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. The Committee recommended that the export decision be deferred on the grounds that the clock system is of outstanding significance for the study of Shortt’s contribution to accurate timekeeping and his related scientific experiments on broader issues, such as the effects of gravity.

William Hamilton Shortt’s clock system, created in England in early 1920s, was, at that time, the most accurate time standard. All the major observatories and scientific institutions throughout the world used the Shortt system for about a quarter of a century and its performance was only bettered by the introduction of quartz electronic technology. This particular clock system is unique in that it was commissioned by, and belonged to, Shortt himself. Shortt had it running in his home, experimented with it and compared it with Greenwich time-signals for nearly half a century.

Simon Swynfen Jervis of the Reviewing Committee said, “Shortt’s work in devising the most effective clock system of its day can be seen as the culmination of the heroic sequence of British contributions to the accuracy of timekeeping which began in the 1660s. This particular clock system is of iconic significance because it was Shortt’s personal possession on which he experimented and which he further modified.”

The decision on the export licence application for the Shortt regulator No.7 will be deferred for a period ending on 6 September 2008 inclusive. This period may be extended until 6 December 2008 inclusive if a serious intention to raise funds with a view to making an offer to purchase the clock at the recommended price of £70,100 excluding VAT (£72,218 including VAT) is expressed.

Anyone interested in making an offer to purchase the clock system should contact the owner’s agent through:

The Secretary
The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest
Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.
Wellcome Wolfson Building
165 Queen's Gate
South Kensington
London, SW7 5HD

Notes to editors

  1. Media enquiries on the operation of and casework arising from the work of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA) should  be directed to Tim Carter Senior Media Advisor on 07752 193 330 or tim.carter@mla.gov.uk
  2. The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest is an independent body, serviced by MLA, which advises the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on whether a cultural object, intended for export, is of national importance under specified criteria. Where the Committee finds that an object meets one or more of the criteria, it will normally recommend that the decision on the export licence application should be deferred for a specified period. An offer may then be made from within the United Kingdom at or above the fair market price.
  3. Pictures of this item are available. Please email john.harrison@mla.gov.uk. (MLA no longer subscribes to the PixMedia website service. )
  4. Further details about the clock can be found at Christie’s website, Sale 7443, Important Clocks, 20 February 2008, Lot 39.
  5. The Shortt clock system, created in England in the early 1920s, is of great international importance, both technically and culturally. Effectively, for about quarter of a century (early 1920s to late 1940s), the people of the world set their watches to time as measured by Shortt clocks, while the international scientific community relied entirely upon them as the ultimate arbiters for timekeeping.
  6. As a direct result of his creation of this remarkable design, W.H.Shortt was awarded the British Horological Institute’s Gold Medal in 1928; the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers’ Tompion Gold Medal in 1954 (he was made Master of that Company in 1950) and the Franklin Institute’s Silver Medal. These represent horology’s highest honours.
  7. The study of accurate timekeeping resulted in developments which drove the industrial revolution and were of huge importance to other areas of science, such as astronomy. Shortt’s experimentation on the oscillation of pendulums produced evidence relevant to the study of the effects of gravity. The accuracy of the Shortt system was such that it was the first to confirm the suspicion among astronomers that the earth’s rotation was not as uniform as was generally believed.
  8. Little has hitherto been published about this important clock so there is significant potential for further research and comparative study. In researching the technology and thinking behind this important design, there cannot be a more significant example to study that the one belonging to the creator of the system.

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