Watchmaking in Coventry

Coventry was one of the largest watchmaking centres in England.

Watch making had started in the City as early as 1720 but it wasn't until the 1840's that it grew to predominance. Most watchmakers, like weavers, worked from home with their workshops at the back of the house on the top floor. These "top shops" are a feature of Coventry's housing stock to this day and they can be seen in many streets in the City.

In 1874 there were 130 watch manufacturers listed in "White's Directory". Nevertheless by the late 1890's the trade had all but collapsed. Soup Kitchens were seen in the watchmakers areas of Chapelfields and Earlsdon. The trade was wiped out by cheaper imports from Switzerland and America. It was the hand finishing that was the problem. The cheaper imports were mass-produced. By the turn of the 20th century most of the previous watchmakers had been absorbed into the booming cycle trade.  The few companies that remained soon diversified into the manufacture of speedometer and  gauges for the motor industry.

The quality of Coventry watches was undoubted. In 1909 the most complicated watch ever built in Britain was completed by a Mr. J.W.Player. It cost £1,000.00 to build and it is not surprising that Mr Players company failed in the following year. A similar watch was sold in America in 1993, it fetched approx £395,000.

Bhane Bonniksen's house

Bonniksen
Typical of the Watchmakers of the time was a Dane called Bahne Bonniksen. He came to Coventry to set up business which he did in his house and "top shop" in Norfolk St. To the left is his house. Bonniksen, like others moved into the making of gauges for motor vehicles after the collapse of the watchmaking industry.

This piece is from the web site of the Bonniksen Boy who restores and repairs Bonikksen equipment..."The isochronous speedometer was first patented in 1912 by it's inventor Bahne Bonniksen. Bonniksen (1835-1935) was a Danish horologist who came to England as a young man to learn his trade. He was a watchmaker of considerable talent and is most famous for having invented the 'Karussel' mechanism in 1892 which revolutionised watch movements. When the isochronous speedometer became available in 1912, it likewise revolutionised the accuracy of the speedometer due the clock-type movement at it's heart.

Before 1912 speedometer mechanisms relied mostly on 'governer' type systems where spinning bob-weights would be flung further outwards as the road speed increased. These devices were rather inaccurate, being affected by vibration, friction and wear in the moving parts. Bonniksen's new speedo used a totally fresh approach. He reasoned that speed is simply distance divided by time. His mechanism measures time using a watch-type movement - it has a balance wheel and escapement familiar to anyone who has taken apart a watch or small clock. And measures distance by 'counting' the number of revolutions of the speedo cable, which is proportional to road speed. Both of these factors are measureable to a high degree of accuracy. The clever bit of the movement is the way it 'samples' time and distance over fixed 2.5 or 5 second increments - and feeds the resulting speed information to the indicator hands."

Rotherhams watch works in Spon St

Rotherhams
This is the works of Rotherham and sons. Founded in 1750. This building is in Spon St

This is from the the web site of the Coventry Watch Museum project..."Rotherham was a former apprentice of the firm which eventually became Rotherham & Sons. Rotherhams went on to become the major employer and manufacturer of watches and clocks and came to enjoy an international reputation. By 1899 they employed 400 - 500 people plus about 200 outworkers and produced 100 watches a day."

At the foot of the page is link to a picture of  a "Top Shop" just off the Allsley Rd in the Chapelfields district of Coventry. This area together with Spon End and later, Earlsdon was a hot bed of watch manufacture in Coventry. Chapelfields was freed up for development by the City fathers in 1846. Three trustees were assigned to oversee the development. Two of the trustees were watchmakers and for 40-50 years it became one of the most important watch making areas in the country.

At the foot of the page is link to a picture of  a classic "Top Shop". The workshop was a projection from the rear of the living accommodation. The large amount of North facing windows can still be seen.The front of this house is in Craven St Chapelfields. The house backs onto Hearsall lane. This house is likely to be 100 -150 years old.