Oxford, later London, England · c. 1640 – 1711
Joseph Knibb
Partially verifiedDomestic longcase and bracket clocks, early precision pendulum clockmaking
Life & work
Joseph Knibb was one of the leading English clockmakers of the generation immediately following the introduction of the pendulum, apprenticed to his cousin Samuel Knibb before setting up in Oxford in the 1660s and moving to London around 1670, where he worked in Fleet Street until retiring to Hanslope in 1697. He produced longcase, bracket, and lantern clocks of high quality during the formative decades of English pendulum clockmaking, working alongside contemporaries such as Thomas Tompion in establishing London's reputation for precision domestic timekeeping.
Knibb is closely associated with the 'Roman striking' system, in which a reduced count of bell strokes (using a smaller strike for the numeral five, as in Roman numerals) economised on going-train power and wear, a refinement found on a number of his surviving clocks and occasionally attributed to him, though the broader history of striking-work economy in this period involved several London makers and the attribution should be treated as traditional rather than exclusively documented. He is also noted for early and distinctive case designs, including so-called 'Knibb-style' architectural pediments on longcase clocks.
Documentary survival for Knibb's workshop practices is thinner than for Tompion, since no comparable archive of his personal papers survives; most of what is known comes from the clocks themselves, guild and parish records, and later scholarly cataloguing of signed examples, meaning some biographical particulars (exact training dates, full family history) remain incompletely established in the literature.
Timeline
Joseph Knibb's recorded dates, dated events from this profile and its sources, and dated pieces and sales from the object catalogue. Dates are as each record gives them.
c. 1640 · Career
Born
1670 · Career
Joseph Knibb was one of the leading English clockmakers of the generation immediately following the introduction of the pendulum, apprenticed to his cousin Samuel Knibb before setting up in Oxford in the 1660s and moving to London around 1670, where he worked in Fleet Street until retiring to Hanslope in 1697.
1670-1675 · Catalogued piece
circa 1690 · Catalogued piece
1711 · Career
Died
Training, contributions & innovations
- Produced influential longcase and bracket clocks during the formative period of English pendulum clockmaking
- Associated with the Roman striking economy system reducing bell-strike counts
- Developed distinctive architectural case styles later imitated by other London makers
Inventions & patents
- No personal patent is documented for Knibb; Roman striking is a traditional attribution rather than a securely dated single invention credited solely to him.
Signatures & markings on surviving work
- Clocks signed 'Joseph Knibb, London' or 'Joseph Knibb Oxon' (Oxford) on the dial or backplate
Collecting significance
Signed Knibb longcase and bracket clocks are major museum and auction-house pieces; because of high value, dial and movement signatures are sometimes later additions or replacements, so specialist authentication of case, movement, and signature consistency is essential before purchase.
Firms, key models & movements
Firms
- Joseph Knibb · 1670s
In the object catalogue
2 catalogued objects are recorded under Joseph Knibb. Attributions are as given by each source and are not independent authentication.
- Engraved and pierced silver watch by Joseph KnibbEarly watch (16th–17th century) · 1670-1675
- Joseph Knibb timepiece table clockBracket clock · circa 1690
Provenance
Where the 2 catalogued pieces by Joseph Knibb were recorded, with the collectors, owners and sales their records name.
Provenance map
Each piece is linked to the museum, auction house or dealer whose record it comes from, and to any other house or collection its own provenance names. Select a name to see its pieces.
Museums · 1 piece
Auction houses · 1 piece
Fellows
Auction house · 1 piece · Directory entry
Joseph Knibb timepiece table clockBracket clock · circa 1690 · Record source
Fellows: lot 1
Auction history
| House | Sale & lot | Object |
|---|---|---|
| Fellows | lot 1 | Joseph Knibb timepiece table clock |
Each line is copied from the object's source record and is not independently verified. Holders are as recorded when the piece was catalogued: museum objects may not be on display, and sold lots have since changed hands.
Photographs
Photographs are illustrative examples of the type, not necessarily the exact object described. Verify details against the source file page.
Sources & references
- Britten, F. J., Old Clocks and Watches and Their Makers
- Baillie, G. H., Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World
Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.