Kew
Time
The King's
Observatory Kew played a very significant part in early timekeeping.
The prime meridian was originally at Kew. So reknowned for the
work on the science of time, and especially in the case of John
Harrison and his dispute, there is a theory that the saying "OK"
was coined from the King's Observatory, Kew. Accurate timepieces
were stamped with a stamp from the King's Observatory Kew, and
thus if something was said to be working well it was OK.
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Above: The original prime meridian, with the obelisk marking
North and the observatory behind. |
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The
Prime Meridian and the The Regulator Clock
Justin
Vulliamy was Swiss born and came to London in about 1730.
He joined the business of Benjamin Gray who was a well renowned
clock maker in Pall Mall and worked in London until his
death in 1790. Justin Vulliamy was to marry Gray's daughter
and they had a son Benjamin Vulliamy (1747-1811). Justin
Vulliamy was to succeed Benjamin Gray in the family business
and was succeeded himself by his son Benjamin. This Benjamin
Vulliamy was very much in favour with George III and it
was his clock 'the regulator clock' c 1780, that was the
principal timekeeper at the King's Observatory and regulated
London time. The Observatory acted as the Prime Meridian
and regulation of the clocks in the Houses of Parliament
as well as other locations. There were daily observations
of the Sun as it passed the meridian and thus time was regulated
to a second. It was not until 1884 that The Royal Observatory
at Greenwich became the Prime Meridian and the official
regulator of time. |
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Below-
On Display at Science Museum 'the regulator clock' |
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Kew
and John Harrison
The
King's enthusiasm and passion for clocks and watches allowed
John Harrison to launch a successful appeal directly to
George III in his dispute with the Board of Longitude over
the £20,000 prize for determining longitude. Harrison
wrote via Dr. Stephen Demainbray to the King on 31 January
1772. Dr. Demainbray and George III oversaw the testing
of John Harrison's H5 watch at Kew Observatory and Dr. Demainbray's
manuscript of the event is in the collection at King's College
Library, London. The King had forgotten that he had stored
some lodestones no doubt from his natural history collection
nearby and thus initial trials were not successful. When
they realised the lodestones would be affecting the trials
and removed them the H5 was accurate to 1/3 sec/day over
a ten week period. William Harrison the son of John Harrison
was summoned for an interview and the King is said to have
stated "... these people
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been cruelly wronged...,"and "By God, Harrison, I will
see you righted!" The Board of Longitude did not recognise
the results of the trial at Kew, so John and William petitioned
Parliament. In June 1773 by an Act of Parliament they were awarded
£8750 and it was from this time onwards that John Harrison
was popularly acknowledged as having solved the problem of longitude.
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