Robert Walley was a Bolton watchmaker and was the father of the clockmaker John Walley.
Robert died in 1685 and is buried in St. Peter’s Parish Church, Bolton.
On his tomb his latin epitaph reads “Sepultus hic jacet Robertus Walley horologiarius obit January 1685” which translates to “Buried here lies Robert Walley watchmaker dies January 1685”
As one of the early watchmakers Robert is likely to have followed convention and used a spring wound fusee, which had become standard by that time outside of Germany. Whilst many watches were highly adorned jewels, the flemish weavers fleeing the Huguenot Persecutions and settling in Bolton may have meant that his works were more plain. Puritan watches would have been quite in vogue in the 17th Century amongst the Flemish weavers populating the town.
There are no known examples of his work surviving.