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Lot Essay
The Greenhills were a highly successful family of Kent clockmakers and blacksmiths. By the early 17th century they were established in the village of Stockbury, near Maidstone. Towards the mid 17th century the family divided into two branches, living respectively in Maidstone and Ashford/Canterbury. Both families prospered. John Greenhill III of Maidstone (1655-1702) owned a number of properties in and around the town and was elected Mayor of Maidstone in 1702. A table clock by Richard Greenhill was sold Christie's South Kensington, 18 December 2002, lot 521.
Richard Greenhill I (1616-1687/8) moved to Ashford soon after 1642. Of his three sons, two - John (1644-1706) and Richard (1648-1705) - carried on the clockmaking tradition whilst a third - Robert - became a tanner. Richard Snr's will suggests that there was ill feeling will between him and John, his oldest son, as the other two sons are clearly favoured. John nonetheless prospered. His will of 1706 left bequests to his daughters of £220 and also £200 to buy land and tenements to provide rental income.
Having presumably been trained by his father Richard Greenhill II moved to Canterbury and gained the Freedom of the city by redemption on 2 June 1676. That same year he married Lydia Caffinch, with whom he had a son, Samuel (who was apprenticed to him in 1699 at the age of 15) and a daughter, Sarah. A second marriage to Margaret Nethersole, from a well-known family of lawyers, would have raised Richard's status in the city.
Richard took six, possibly seven, apprentices; no other maker in Canterbury is recorded as having so many and this leads to the conclusion that his must have been the busiest workshops in the city. Certainly he was prosperous; when he died intestate in 1705 he left effects worth £1,543, excluding any property he owned.
Despite this apparent success, surviving domestic clocks by Richard Greenhill are exceptionally rare and only one is recorded in Kent Clocks and Clockmakers. It is entirely possible that the principal part of Greenhill's business was for turret clocks (the 7½ tons of iron inventoried in his yard upon his death suggests the sort of usage one would expect of a turret clockmaker). However, only one church clock is definitely attributed to him; that of St Mary's, Herne, was supplied in 1 for £14.
The present clock is therefore a rare survival and as such provides a valuable testament to the skills of a remarkable provincial clockmaker. See Michael Pearson, Kent Clocks and Clockmakers, Mayfield Books, pp.67-84.
Richard Greenhill I (1616-1687/8) moved to Ashford soon after 1642. Of his three sons, two - John (1644-1706) and Richard (1648-1705) - carried on the clockmaking tradition whilst a third - Robert - became a tanner. Richard Snr's will suggests that there was ill feeling will between him and John, his oldest son, as the other two sons are clearly favoured. John nonetheless prospered. His will of 1706 left bequests to his daughters of £220 and also £200 to buy land and tenements to provide rental income.
Having presumably been trained by his father Richard Greenhill II moved to Canterbury and gained the Freedom of the city by redemption on 2 June 1676. That same year he married Lydia Caffinch, with whom he had a son, Samuel (who was apprenticed to him in 1699 at the age of 15) and a daughter, Sarah. A second marriage to Margaret Nethersole, from a well-known family of lawyers, would have raised Richard's status in the city.
Richard took six, possibly seven, apprentices; no other maker in Canterbury is recorded as having so many and this leads to the conclusion that his must have been the busiest workshops in the city. Certainly he was prosperous; when he died intestate in 1705 he left effects worth £1,543, excluding any property he owned.
Despite this apparent success, surviving domestic clocks by Richard Greenhill are exceptionally rare and only one is recorded in Kent Clocks and Clockmakers. It is entirely possible that the principal part of Greenhill's business was for turret clocks (the 7½ tons of iron inventoried in his yard upon his death suggests the sort of usage one would expect of a turret clockmaker). However, only one church clock is definitely attributed to him; that of St Mary's, Herne, was supplied in 1 for £14.
The present clock is therefore a rare survival and as such provides a valuable testament to the skills of a remarkable provincial clockmaker. See Michael Pearson, Kent Clocks and Clockmakers, Mayfield Books, pp.67-84.