Barton-in-the-Beans, Leicestershire, England · 1746 – 1816
Samuel Deacon
Partially verifiedProvincial longcase and turret clockmaking
Life & work
Samuel Deacon was a rural English clockmaker who ran a workshop in the small Leicestershire hamlet of Barton-in-the-Beans (also recorded as Barton) from about 1771–72, exemplifying the large but poorly documented population of provincial English makers who worked entirely outside London's Clerkenwell trade. He is unusual among such makers in that his life is comparatively well recorded, but for a reason unconnected to clockmaking: he was also, for thirty-seven years, minister of the Barton General Baptist chapel, and biographical memoirs of him were published after his death focusing on his religious ministry as much as his trade.
Deacon built up what near-contemporary sources describe as a considerable clock and watchmaking business, apparently combining his craft with unpaid religious ministry and taking no salary as pastor while supporting himself through the workshop. As with most English provincial makers, no comprehensive catalogue of his output or serial numbering scheme is established in the literature consulted here.
The 'Deacon family of Leicestershire clockmakers' has been the subject of specialist Antiquarian Horology research; readers should be aware that this encyclopedia's brief entry summarises the general outline rather than the fine genealogical and production detail available in that specialist literature.
Timeline
Samuel Deacon'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.
1746 · Career
Born
1771 · Career
Samuel Deacon was a rural English clockmaker who ran a workshop in the small Leicestershire hamlet of Barton-in-the-Beans (also recorded as Barton) from about 1771–72, exemplifying the large but poorly documented population of provincial English makers who worked entirely outside London's Clerkenwell trade.
1816 · Career
Died
Training, contributions & innovations
- Represents the large, loosely documented tier of English provincial (as opposed to London) clock and watchmakers active in the later eighteenth century
- Combined a substantial rural clockmaking trade with an unpaid ministry, an unusually well-documented combination for a provincial maker of this period
Inventions & patents
- No invention or patent specific to Samuel Deacon is recorded in the sources consulted here; provincial makers of his type typically built conventional longcase and turret clock movements rather than pursuing novel mechanisms.
Signatures & markings on surviving work
- Longcase clock dials from this workshop are typically signed 'Sam. Deacon, Barton' or a close variant; exact signature forms should be checked against surviving dated examples rather than assumed uniform.
Collecting significance
Deacon longcase clocks are a modest but genuine English provincial collecting category, generally valued well below London-made equivalents; because biographical interest in Deacon derives substantially from religious-history sources rather than horological catalogues, collectors should consult specialist Leicestershire clockmaking research (noted in sources) for production dating rather than relying on generic price guides.
Firms, key models & movements
No firm, model or movement in this encyclopedia is yet recorded under this maker's name.
In the object catalogue
1 catalogued object is recorded under Samuel Deacon. Attributions are as given by each source and are not independent authentication.
- Regency longcase clock by Samuel DeaconLongcase clock · George III
Provenance
Where the 1 catalogued piece by Samuel Deacon was 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.
Dealers & other listings · 1 piece
Antiques Atlas
Dealer · 1 piece
Regency longcase clock by Samuel DeaconLongcase clock · George III · Record source
The record names no sale, lot or earlier owner.
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
- Green, J. (ed. Cook, T.), Preacher, Pastor, Mechanic: Memoir of the Late Mr. Samuel Deacon (1888)
- Hewitt, P. A., 'The Deacon Family of Leicestershire Clockmakers,' Antiquarian Horology (Sept. 1986)
- Britten, F. J., Old Clocks and Watches and Their Makers (general context on English provincial clockmaking)
Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.