The Naylors. A typical watchmaking family of the 19thC

The history of the Coventry Naylors is closely tied with watchmaking.

In the 19thC there were three major areas specialising in the making of watches in England. Liverpool, London (Clerkenwell) and Coventry. The Naylors typify the itinerant nature of the watch making workforce. The ups and downs of the family illustrate the shift of fortunes that befell the industry as a whole. Here is their story.

George Naylor was born in 1820 in St Martins London. In 1851 he was living in Clerkenwell with his wife and 4 children - Charles, George, Elizabeth and Hannah. His occupation was that of a Watchcase  Engine Turner. This meant he used small machines to engrave intricate geometric patterns on the cases of the watches. (Most watches were manufactured by a series of specialist, the final assembly taking place by the watchmaker). Despite living in Clerkenwell, George was from a family of Liverpool watchmakers. One of his children, Elizabeth, was born in Liverpool in 1848.

George moved to Coventry before the 1861 census as he was shown in that census as living at 36 Mount St in the watch making enclave of Chapelfields.

36 Mount St Coventry

George's first son, Charles (B1844) was also a watchcase engine turner. The 1881 census shows him having left 36 Mount St, his parent's house. He is now living in Norfolk St. He has his own son apprenticed to him and he is employing 3  additional hands. Things are looking good. However by 1891 the impact of importation of American watches has hit him hard. He has moved to 11 Crow Lane. His sons are still living with him. Charles jnr is 25 and is still working in watch making but his younger son Christopher is in the bicycle manufacturing trade. And Charles now has to have a lodger. By 1901 Charles and his wife are still at Crow Lane but now with 3 lodgers. He is now shown as a worker, a watchcase Engine Turner.

George's second son, another George, was born in 1845 in Clerkenwell. He moved to Mount St with his parents and was working there - it was, and still is, a top shop.  He is shown as a watchcase springer. The person who puts the spring in the case so the front pops open on release of the catch.

By 1871 this George(B1845) had moved out of Mount St and was living at Upper Wellington St in Coventry. And in 1881 he was still a watchcase springer. His wife Elizabeth was a silk winder.

By 1901 Elizabeth is shown as a widow and a laundress, living in Paybodys buildings. Elizabeth Paybody was a local philanthropist so maybe Elizabeth had fallen on hard times.

George's sons  all moved into engineering, becoming toolmakers or machinists in Coventry's burgeoning engineering Industry. No more were to be involved with watch making - though clearly the generations of fine artisans who went before them passed on dexterity in working with metals to fine levels of accuracy.

In 1851 the population of Coventry was just over 36,000. It had nearly 1700 watchmakers.

By 1891 the population had grown to 53,000 and it had 3,000 watchmakers.

However, by 1901 within a population grown to nearly 62,000 the watchmakers had fallen to under 2000 and by 1911 the watchmakers had reduced to just about 1000 falling  further to 300 by 1921. The industry was all but dead.

It wasn't just the large amount of American watches being imported. There was resistance to using the new, machine, manufacturing methods employed by the Americans. The hand made watch artisans seemed to think it beneath them to machine manufacture inferior watches this way. So they were doomed.

At the foot of the page are links to photographs showing numbers 35,36 and 37 Mount St. A terrace of top shops. And the Blue plate on the wall of number 35.

Also a view of Mount St at the turn of the 20thC and a similar view today. The Naylors house was the 7th and 8th upstairs window down on the left.
_{The Coventry Naylors are the authors wife's family}