Manx National Heritage confirms that it has extended ‘The Luxury of Time’, an exhibition at the Manx Museum featuring some of history’s most significant British timepieces.
The exhibition, which showcases the golden age of clock and watch making, is the largest exhibition of clocks and timepieces ever staged on the Isle of Man and the first dedicated to horology at the Manx Museum. Made possible thanks to the generosity of the philanthropist Dr John C Taylor OBE, the stunning spectacle will now run until Sunday 27 September 2020.
Dr John C Taylor OBE
Born in Buxton, Derbyshire in 1936 and schooled at King William’s College, Dr Taylor returned to the Isle of Man in 1977 to bring up his young family. He founded Strix in 1981 and has created numerous world-changing inventions including kettle controls now used a billion times a day.
Commenting on the exhibition, Dr Taylor said:
“I’ve always loved clocks and my interest started at a young age when I would watch my father, who was an engineer and inventor. He would boil clock mechanisms in a pan to release built-up grease and then scrub and clean the metal until he breathed new life into the gear wheels and got them working again.”
Queen Mary’s Turtle-shell Tompion (c1693)
Dr Taylor has since built up a unique collection of early clocks and watches from the British Isles that tell many stories of great design, metal work, furniture making, entrepreneurialism, engineering and timekeeping.
“Hand-made English clocks, many dated and numbered, were in fact the first mass-produced luxury items, heralding the start of the industrial revolution. Not only is the craftsmanship astoundingly intricate, it amazes me that such wonderful works of art could be created to such a high specification, when spectacles were rare and clockmakers had to make their own tools.”
The Luxury of Time features 30 different outstandingly beautiful timepieces from Dr Taylor’s private collection. The exhibition is on display at the Manx Museum until Sunday 27 September 2020. Admission is free but donations are welcome.
For further information on planning a visit, including opening times, hygiene and safety measures to keep visitors safe, please visit www.manxnationalheritage.im.