This large mural in Ormskirk celebrates the town's history of master watches and clockmakers.

 

The background is inspired by Thomas Barry's (who was an Ormskirkian) 1787 Astronomical Clock which is on display at Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. (see later)

 

I tried to make this all mystical and deep, but I think it's come out a bit Christmassy in the end. I have put him in a green waistcoat as a nod to St Paddy's day -the day on which the work was completed!

 

Thanks to everyone in Ormskirk, you were all so positive and friendly 👍🙌👍. Thanks also to Discover Ormskirk and Ormskirk Council for making this possible and getting behind the whole project.

 

Thomas Barry of Ormskirk is recorded as a clockmaker in Bailey’s Directory of 1787. His is one of the most technically ambitious clocks known to have been made in the area when Liverpool’s reputation was at its height as a centre of horological expertise.

 

The clock, completed in 1787, was offered for sale by public raffle, with 150 tickets sold at one guinea each. This was a well-known 18th-century promotional sales technique for exceptional pieces.

 

https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/artifact/astronomical-clock.

 

The clock is housed in a four-sided mahogany case, made by the cabinet-maker James Moorcroft of Ormskirk (1759-1816). It has three engraved faces displaying different aspects of time, while the fourth side has a glazed-hinged door to reveal the clock's movement.

 

The arches above each dial show the movement of the sun and moon, planets and stars. The main dial at the front is inscribed around the aperture of Thomas Barry Ormskirk. It has an eight-day spring-driven movement. The clock strikes on the hour and plays a choice of three tunes on eight bells in succession, two for three days twice and one for one day (Sunday). It changes the tune automatically as there is no manual select function. The melodies have not been named or identified.

 

Signed prints can be purchased from: www.paulcurtisartwork.com

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Music I Use: https://www.bensound.com/free-music-for-videos