Tompion was born in Bedfordshire, England, where he was baptized in 1639. The son of a Bedfordshire blacksmith, Tompion established his business near Fleet Street in 1671. This is where he traded for the rest of his life under the name ‘The Dial and Three Crowns’.
He was an English clock, watch, and scientific instrument-maker who created novel mechanisms that propelled the watch industry forward.
Nothing is known of Tompion’s formative years leading up to his admission to the Clockmaker’s Company in 1671. He initially started as an apprentice before gaining his journeyman status in 1674.
By 1676, he was promoted to be the clockmaker for the new Royal Greenwich Observatory.
Remarkably, due to his sound business acumen and technical prowess, he ascended quickly within London’s horological community and soon became the leading retailer. Tompion was among the first to apply Christiaan Huygens’s invention of the balance spring to a watch rather than a clock.
He is credited with inventing the ‘Tompion regulation’ (ca. 1674–75) and was the first to construct watches using a horizontal escapement in 1695.
In clockwork, Tompion used early forms of the dead-beat escapement (ca. 1675–76), which was later adopted by George Graham in 1725 . He also introduced the pendulum spring-suspension for table clocks and Barlow’s rack-striking mechanism in about 1680.
Tompion’s accomplishments were furthered by being the inventor of the recoil escapement for clocks and the cylinder escapement in watches. He was also closely associated with the mathematician and scientist Robert Hooke. Hooke would typically come to him to help make his designs come to life, literally. Together, the pair also prepared a bespoke watch for Charles II in 1675.
By 1690, he was running an operation that had about 20 people at his now famous establishment, The Dial and Three Crowns. His customers were heavily segmented towards the nobility of England and other European countries.
William III was a dedicated connoisseur of Tompion’s work, Tompion made several longcase clocks and four early barometers for William III. Several remain in the Royal Collection today.
Queen Mary II was also a fan of Tompion, purchasing his work both for diplomatic gifts and for herself.
Thomas Tompion’s early travelling pocket watch equipped with an alarm feature, 1680 / Credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Longcase equation clock, 1703 / Credit: Royal Collection Trust
This longcase equation clock was made for Queen Anne’s husband, Prince George of Denmark. It was made while Thomas Tompion was in partnership with his nephew Edward Banger. It was then in the State Bedchamber at Kensington Palace. It could run for 390 days on a single winding.
Based on the design of this clock, George III ordered four additional clocks to be obtained for use in the Buckingham Palace. George III was a knowledgeable horologist and truly appreciated the technical ingenuity of Tompion’s workmanship .
A note found in the Buckingham Palace published in 1802 stated, “In every room the encouragement given by his Majesty to ingenious constructors of time-pieces is apparent.”
The Royal family took horology seriously. Examples of his work in the Royal Collection today include long-case clocks, bracket clocks and barometers.
Queen Anne Ebony Miniature Table Clock / Credit: Christie’s
During his life Tompion sold approximately 700 clocks and 5,500 watches, as well as a smaller number of scientific instruments .
Thomas enjoyed the camaraderie of three successive sovereigns – Charles II (1630-85), William III (1650-1702), and Queen Anne (1665-1714). This could be where he got the name The Dial and Three Crowns for his business.
In about 1712 Tompion took into partnership George Graham, who had married his niece, and Graham succeeded in the business upon Tompion’s death the following year. Thomas Tompion died in 1713 and was buried in the central aisle of Westminster Abbey.
Plaque outside of Westminster Abbey commemorating Thomas Tompion and George Graham / Credit: London Remembers
George Graham, the successor of Thomas Tompion’s business, is also buried with him in Westminster Abbey. Thomas Tompion was among the foremost clockmakers in English history.
By: Eric Mulder
Read more:
Evans, Jeremy L. “Thomas Tompion.” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Tompion.
“Longcase equation clock c.1703.” Royal Collection Trust, https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/7/collection/2754/longcase-equation-clock.
“Thomas Tompion 1639-1713.” Royal Collection Trust, https://www.rct.uk/collection/people/thomas-tompion-1639-1713#/type/all.