Clockmaking was well established in East Anglia by the time 25-year-old William Gostling opened his workshop in Mere Street, Diss, in 1774. The town's first clockmaker, Benjamin Shuckforth, had started his business in about 1710. Longcase pendulum clocks, popular because of their accuracy, had been around for almost a hundred years.

 

The Diss Museum clock is believed to date from 1780. This was about the time when William  moved into a larger property at 14 Mere Street following the death of the previous occupant, clockmaker Samuel Buxton.

 

The maker's name, William Gostling, Diss, is engraved on the dial, which also shows quarter hours and the date. The dial uses Roman numerals and there are brass spandrels (decorations on one side of a curve, almost triangle shaped) in each corner.  The top decoration is missing along with one of the clock hands. The case is made of oak, with a strip of carved decoration around the top. 

 

So, is the Diss Museum clock a grandfather or a shorter, less ornate grandmother clock? The museum clock is 198cm high (about 6' 6") including the top decoration, with a base width of 46cm (18") and a clock face of 25cm (10") wide. 

 

These days grandmother clocks are described as being up to 183cm (6') in height, while taller grandfathers are from 183cm (6') to 243cm (8') tall. This would make the museum clock a short grandfather. 

 

Although we wonder about this kind of definition now, it would have been meaningless to William Gostling. It was to be nearly another hundred years before the widely used term grandfather clock was invented. William's main concern would have been to make longcase clocks that fitted into the customer's home.

 

William's story is a sobering reminder of how many lives were cut short in the 18th century. He died at the age of 48, and his 21-year-old son George immediately took over the business, but died three years later. Then his 19-year-old son, Francis, took over along with his widowed mother, but died at the age of 38. [Thankfully, times have changed - Ed]