Time and Time-Tellers — A Closer Reading

From Sundials to Split Seconds

The opening chapters trace a chronological arc from the earliest timekeeping devices to the sophisticated watches of Benson's own era. He describes the 'pocket ring dial' and 'silver pocket dial and compass' as portable sun-compasses, then moves through water clocks, early table watches, and the famous 'Death's Head' watch of Mary Queen of Scots. The illustrations—sixty-eight in total—depict everything from Oliver Cromwell's watch to John Milton's, grounding the narrative in tangible artifacts. Benson's prose is precise: he notes that the 'old English round watch' and 'old oval watch' represent distinct stylistic phases, and he lingers on the 'book-shaped watch' as a curiosity of form. This section establishes that timekeeping is not merely mechanical but also cultural, with each object reflecting the tastes and needs of its age.

The Machinery of Precision

Benson devotes considerable space to the internal mechanisms that define a watch's quality. He explains the differences between verge, horizontal, duplex, lever, and chronometer escapements, often with diagrams keyed to the illustrations. The 'compensation balance' receives special attention: it is 'adjusted to act equally at extremes of temperature,' a critical feature for marine chronometers and pocket watches alike. He describes how the 'perpetual calendar keyless watch' automatically handles month lengths and leap years, and how the 'split centre seconds' watch allows a doctor to time a pulse by stopping one of two superimposed second hands. These passages reveal Benson's admiration for ingenuity: he marvels that 'the power of complication can no farther go within the limits of the small box which is called a watch case.'

Clocks for Public and Private

The later chapters shift to larger timepieces: house clocks, turret clocks, and the monumental clocks displayed at the International Exhibition of 1862. Benson describes the 'tell-tale clock' used to check night watchmen, the 'gas wheel for illuminated dial' that made church clocks readable after dark, and the 'nest of bevelled wheels' that carried hands across large faces. He provides detailed accounts of famous turret clocks: Wells Cathedral, old St. Dunstan's, St. James's Palace, and St. Paul's Cathedral. The chapter on the 1862 Exhibition highlights Benson's own 'Great Clock,' shown in exterior and movement views. Throughout, he balances technical description with practical advice, noting, for instance, that the 'three legg'd gravity escapement' reduces friction in heavy tower clocks. The book closes with a brief note on sundials, returning to the sun-based origins with which it began.

Readers interested in the social history of timekeeping will find Benson's work a rich primary source, while those with a mechanical bent can follow his detailed explanations of escapements and complications. The book rewards both a linear reading and selective browsing of its illustrations. Because Benson writes as a practitioner, his judgments about what makes a watch 'good' or 'ingenious' carry the weight of experience. Approach the text as a Victorian craftsman's view of his trade—part catalogue, part technical manual, and part philosophical reflection on the measurement of life itself.

This book’s patient study of springs and escapements brought back my grandfather’s worn pocket watch, silent now on my desk, ticking only in memory. The way time’s machinery hides beneath ordinary surfaces reminds me of how The Road and the Roadside — Story, Setting & Ideas once made me notice the quiet stories in verges and hedgerows. Both books ask me to slow down, look closer, and honor what usually passes unnoticed.