Combine a visit to this curio of a museum with a visit to the historic Guildhall and the Guildhall Art Gallery.
The Clockmakers' Museum collection is housed in the Guildhall Library and is the oldest collection specifically of clocks and watches in the world, with about 1,000 exhibits.
The collection was begun in 1814 and is shown in a single room, containing at any one time some 600 English and European watches, 30 clocks and 15 marine timekeepers, together with a number of rare horological portraits. The majority of items in the collection range from c.1600 to c.1850.
It offers up some fascinating tid-bits of general knowledge too. Did you know that the Belville family used to sell Greenwich Mean Time to Londoners using a pocket watch named 'Arnold’? Or that there was a decimal watch invented in 1862 on which the hands move anti-clockwise and the day is divided into ten hours?
The Library and Collection are maintained by the Clockmakers’ Museum and Educational Trust.
Address
Guildhall Library, Aldermanbury EC2V 7HH. Find it on a map.
Opening times
Mon-Sat 9.30am-4.45pm
Disabled access
The Clockmakers' Museum is wheelchair accessible (though some passageways are quite narrow). It has an internal stair lift and a wheelchair accessible toilet. There is a hearing loop at the front desk. For blue/orange badge holders there are parking bays in Basinghall Street, Gresham Street and Aldermanbury.
For information on disabled access to the Guildhall Library visit Disabled Go.
Why not also...
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- Visit Guildhall Art Gallery
Discover artworks from 1670 to the present, and step into the ruins of London's Roman Amphitheatre
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News
- Take a guided walk
Take a guided tour through the City and discover its riches, from Roman remains to cutting-edge architecture