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The Encyclopedia of Horology

London, United Kingdom · 1719–1790

Larcum Kendall

Partially verified

Maker of catalogued marine timekeeper, pocket watch movement

Life & work

Born in Charlbury in 1719, Larcum Kendall began his formal training in 1735 under the London watchmaker John Jefferys.

He established his own business in 1742 and subsequently collaborated with Thomas Mudge while performing work for George Graham. Kendall gained prominence after the Board of Longitude commissioned him to create a duplicate of John Harrison’s H4 marine chronometer. The resulting chronometer, known as K1, successfully proved the efficacy of Harrison's design during James Cook's voyages.

Following K1, Kendall produced the simplified K2 and K3 models, though these later units were generally considered to possess lower performance than his initial work. Kendall continued his active professional life until his death in London in 1790.

The fuller biography summarises the open references listed under Sources; each statement was checked against the cited passage. Confirm key dates in period documents before relying on them.

Training, contributions & innovations

  • Kendall was selected by the Board of Longitude in 1765 as an expert to evaluate John Harrison's H4 chronometer.
  • His work provided the essential proof required by the scientific community that Harrison's H4 success was replicable.

Documented works

  • The K1 chronometer is preserved at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.
  • The K2 timekeeper, famously associated with the mutiny on the Bounty, is held by the National Maritime Museum.

Key models

K1
This accurate duplicate of John Harrison’s H4 was used extensively by Captain James Cook on his voyages.
K2
Completed in 1772, this simplified chronometer became known as the Bounty Timekeeper.

Current watchmaking & later fate

  • The name Larcum Kendall is currently associated with the brand Larcum Kendall Watches.

As stated in the references listed under Sources, retrieved 2026-11-03. Ownership and collections change; check the maker's own announcements for the latest position.

Collecting significance

The catalogued pieces listed on this page show the kinds of objects auction houses, dealers and museums attribute to this maker; each attribution is the source's own.

Firms, key models & movements

Famous objects

In the object catalogue

2 catalogued objects are recorded under Larcum Kendall. Attributions are as given by each source and are not independent authentication.

Diagram

12345let downstripcleanoilregulateorder of work; never skip letting down the mainspring
Schematic: order of work at the bench. An outline schematic drawn to show the arrangement of the parts discussed here. It is not a dimensioned working drawing and does not depict a particular maker's calibre.

Sources & references

  1. Larcum Kendall, Wikipedia (English), retrieved 2026-11-03 (text CC BY-SA 4.0)
  2. Kendall, Larcum, Watch-Wiki, retrieved 2026-11-03

Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.