Founded in 1631, the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers is the oldest horological institution in the world, and its prestigious Harrison Medal has only been awarded to six other people. It commemorates outstanding achievements in propagating knowledge of the history of clockmaking and its appreciation, and is named after John Harrison, the renowned inventor of the marine chronometer.
Previous recipients include the renowned astronomer and physicist Sir Arnold Wolfendale FRS, horologist Jonathan Betts MBE and horologist David Thompson.
Speaking after the medal presentation, Dr Taylor (pictured right, receiving the medal) said, “It is an honour to have my work recognised by the Company, and to share the receipt of the Harrison Medal with such well-respected names from the field of horology.
“I must thank the Company’s Awards Panel for their consideration of my achievements.”
Philip Whyte, The Master of the Company (pictured left), said, “Dr Taylor was awarded the Harrison Medal because of his involvement in horology as a whole, but especially for his support of the celebrations surrounding the Harrison Memorial in Westminster Abbey and exhibitions at the Royal Society and Goldsmiths’ Hall.
“It was a pleasure to recognise such a deserving recipient, whose efforts and contribution to the scholarship and understanding of clock and watchmaking in recent years cannot be understated.”
Regarded as one of the world’s leading experts in the work of John Harrison, Dr Taylor has lectured around the world and alongside fellow Harrison Medal recipient Dava Sobel, who wrote the book Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time about John Harrison. John Harrison was an early horological pioneer, and his ‘marine chronometer’ was the first clock accurate enough to be used for navigational purposes.
Dr Taylor has one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of early English clocks, including one of only three surviving John Harrison longcase clocks still working. Four of his items are currently being exhibited as part of the National Maritime Museum’s Ships, Clocks & Stars Exhibition, which has been transferred to Mystic Seaport, the USA’s leading maritime museum.
(Image removed)Dr Taylor’s interest in clocks extends beyond appreciation and study - his admiration for John Harrison led him to design and build the Corpus Chronophage (right), a three-metre high clock that is displayed in an exterior wall of his alma mater: Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. It was unveiled in 2008 by world-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking.
It was John Harrison’s grasshopper escapement that made his longcase clocks the most accurate in the world for 150 years, and his sea clocks allowed sailors to navigate using the time. Dr Taylor celebrated that horological breakthrough with the Corpus Chronophage, in which the grasshopper is externalised, enlarged and shaped like a science-fiction grasshopper which stalks along the top of the clock, releasing the huge escape wheel that encircles the face.
Dr Taylor has since created three more Chronophage clocks: the Midsummer Chronophage, the Dragon Chronophage and a private commission for a US collector.
He is perhaps best known for having created the bimetal thermostat controls inside electric kettles and other small household appliances. To date, over two billion of these thermostats have been used around the globe. He has over 400 patents to his name, making him one of the world’s most prolific inventors. Bimetal itself was invented by his hero John Harrison.
More information on the making of the Corpus Chronophage clock can be found here.
For a video of the clock in motion see the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHO1JTNPPOU
Useful links:
http://www.johnctaylor.com
http://www.clockmakers.org/
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