We are pleased to announce we are the new caretakers of a very special Grandfather Clock.
The clock, which is nearly 200 years old, was made in Pocklington and now stands proudly in the Old Forge Tea Rooms.
The Pocklington District Heritage Trust appealed for someone to temporarily house it where it could be seen by the community, and so we jumped at the opportunity. It suits the room and the house perfectly, and it looks very smart stood in the corner of the room next to the china dresser.
We haven’t, however, been brave enough to put the pendulum in to see if it will work! But we have full intention of giving it a go.
The little bit of history we know about it;
The clock was made by Reuben Milner in his Pocklington workshop in Regent Street. There is 'R Milner Pocklington' painted on the clockface and inside is a label saying: 'Reuben Milner, Regent Street, Pocklington 1823.'
(From Pocklington & District Local History History Group website) ‘It is an early example of Milner's work. He came to Pocklington from Market Weighton when he married Mary Easton in 1805, and started his clock and watchmaking on West Green, but soon moved to Regent Street, where the Milner family continued making timepieces for three generations.
Reuben's son, Charles, carried on the Pocklington business with his nephew Robert. When Charles died in 1873, Robert moved to Leeds as a watchmaker, though his life rapidly went downhill as he was declared bankrupt and his wife divorced him for cruelty and desertion. Leaving Yorkshire behind, Robert emigrated to America where he reinvented himself in the 1880s, starting a new family and working as a watchmaker in Philadelphia. He started his own watchmaking and jewellery business in 1899, which was taken on by his son, another Reuben, and the shop continued to trade in Philadelphia until the 1950s.
The clock has been in Glossop for the past 15 years, with owners John and Claire Doyle. After reading an article on pocklingtonhistory.com website they decided to donate it back to where it originated. The pair aren’t entirely sure how the family acquired it but it has been in Claire’s family for several generations – possibly dating back to the 19th century when the family were Yorkshire shoemakers, She has fond memories of playing with the clock as a child at her grandfather's in Lancashire. It moved on to an aunt's house in Wales, before coming into the Doyle's possession at Glossop.