For as long as I can remember, I have been drawn to objects and the history they can carry, the quiet, tangible links they offer to the people and worlds that came before us. Clocks, in particular, have always fascinated me: not simply as instruments for measuring time, but as works of art, engineering, and human ingenuity. Born in Oxford and raised in North Oxfordshire, I grew up immersed in historic surroundings, and it felt only natural that my life would take shape around the study of the past.
My interest in horology began at a very young age, so early, in fact, that I’m often told my first words were “tick-tock.” By my early teens, that fascination had already turned into something more serious, and at thirteen I found myself running a small antique fair in Buckinghamshire. It was there that my broader love of antiques took hold, and I began to understand the pleasure of handling objects that had survived centuries, each with its own story to tell.
That passion ultimately led me to pursue a traditional apprenticeship in antiquarian horology at The Clock Workshop in Hampshire, where I trained under Richard Scorey. Specialising in 17th- and 18th-century English clocks, I spent three and a half years at the bench, learning the craft from the inside out. With the generous support of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers and the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust, it was a demanding but immensely formative period, one that shaped not only my technical ability, but also my approach to attention to detail. I later qualified as a Member of the British Horological Institute (MBHI).
In 2024, I joined Bonhams as a specialist in the Fine Clocks Department at New Bond Street, a role that brings together everything I value about the field. My work involves researching, cataloguing, and valuing important timepieces, often by the great makers of the English golden age, Thomas Tompion, George Graham, and Joseph Knibb among them. Handling such objects daily, and helping place them into new custodianship, remains a genuine privilege. One particular highlight was the identification and attribution of a previously unrecorded Samuel Knibb table clock which sold for £108,350 inc. premium This important discovery expanded the known corpus of Knibb’s work from five recorded clocks to six, significantly broadening scholarly understanding of the maker.
Alongside my work at Bonhams, I am deeply committed to the wider horological and heritage craft community. I serve on the Youth Advisory Board of the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust, supporting and encouraging the next generation of craftspeople, and in 2025 I was honoured to join the Board of Directors of the British Watch and Clockmakers’ Guild.
Beyond clocks, I have always been a collector at heart. My interests range widely across the decorative and applied arts, with a particular fondness for early medieval Anglo-Saxon material and medieval stained glass. Whether studying an object, restoring a movement, or encountering something entirely new, I remain driven by curiosity and a belief in the importance of preserving historic craftsmanship for the future.
Thank you for taking the time to learn a little about me. I hope this site offers an insight into my work, my interests, and my enduring fascination with the art and history of time.
Lewis Walduck MBHI
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