Joseph Smith Clockmaker of Barthomley and Chester

Joseph Smith three train turret clock for Chester Cathedral, continued
The payment was increased occasionally if repairs were required, for example
one of the bells was sent to London for re-casting during the 1730s; on 18 th
December 1738-9, after the bell’s return this entry was put in the accounts
book: ‘To Mr Smith for cleaning and regulating the clock after the Great Bell
was put up - £0 9s 0d.’
Joseph Smith’s connection with the cathedral was made even closer when he
sent his boys to the King’s School. The school was founded by King Henry VIII
in 1541 following the dissolution of St Werburgh's Abbey, which became
Chester Cathedral. It was housed in the former monastic refectory for most
of the next 400 years. It was to have twenty-four poor and friendless boys
aged between nine and fifteen. The boys, usually termed King's Scholars,
were elected by competitive examination and received a free education and
an allowance. The ‘poor and friendless’ requirement must have been less
stringently enforced as the years passed. Joseph’s eldest son, John was first
listed as a King’s Scholar in the account book in 1733, followed by Gabriel(2)
in 1735, Thomas in 1737 and Samuel in 1742. It is not known how long the
boys attended the school, but Samuel was still there in 1745.
In October 1744 Thomas was paid the year’s salary for taking care of the
clock and the following year, Mrs Smith collected her husband’s salary.
Payments to Joseph then continued until 1763, when Gabriel(2) was paid ‘his
year’s salary’. After that time, Joseph was paid for three more years, the final
payment to him being on 4 th April 1766. John Smith continued the
maintenance of the clock until his last salary was paid on 9 th November 1781.
The Smith clock continued in service until 1872/3 when it was replaced by a
flatbed Westminster chiming clock made by JB Joyce & Co. of Whitchurch.
Like its predecessor, the Joyce clock had no dial, but simply told the time by
full quarter chiming and striking the hours. At the time of the clock’s
installation, the 1867 carillon was re-sited. It lessened the job of the
bellringers, by playing the first lead of Bob Triples. The Joyce clock and
carillon were themselves superseded by an electric chiming mechanism
which was installed in the new Addleshaw Bell Tower when it was completed
in 1975.