The Robert Douglas Silver Verge Fusee Watch.
A Silver, Pair Case, Verge Fusee, Watch Number 40, by Robert Douglas of Bolton.
The Watch Maker:
Robert Douglas is listed in Bolton between 1780 and 1800, he may be linked to one of the Robert Douglas’ of Liverpool, but that is still being researched, sadly records of him are very sparse.
It is not known where he traded from, but likely that it was the Churchgate area at centre of the town of Great Bolton, as the area was also a focus for clock and watch makers.
Robert Douglas is known to have made both Watches and Clocks of very high quality with attention to high levels of detail in the finish.
One if his clocks was described as “An exceptional Lancashire Chippendale mahogany long case clock by Robert Douglas of Bolton c.1790. The case overlaid with flowers and foliage, the dial with revolving moon in the arch.”
There are many similarities with the dates of Robert Douglas in Liverpool, as well as his connection with the case maker Henry Rigby, but so far a direct link has not been found to show he moved there after his time in Bolton.
The Watch:
The Silver, Pair Case, Verge Fusee watch has an enamel dial, and a Balance Bridge that is used to support the balance wheel in the watch, England also developed a single sided bridge or Balance Cock, which often became the norm, but watch makers especially in Lancashire also utilised Balance Bridges as they preferred them. Continental makers often retained the use of a Balance Bridge, causing some people to suggest that English Balance Bridge watches were of continental manufacture.
This beautiful watch was made in Bolton at the end 1784, since then its history is unknown, but it surfaced in a jewellers spares and scrap stock in Cheltenham only recently.
The Huguenots who settled in Bolton in 17th century were the 2nd wave of Flemish immigrants to the town. The original ones arrived in 1330s. They are also credited with introducing clogs to Lancashire. The Huguenot Flemish wore fustian, a rough cloth made of cotton and linen. It could be that Huguenots influenced watch design in Bolton and the North West, just as they influenced the textile trade.
The watch is number 40, low numbers suggesting it was produced ‘in house’ its predecessor number 39 was offered for Pawn in 1791.
The Case.
The Silver Pair Case was made by Henry Rigby Watchmaker of Liverpool. (1751 -1787).
The case is hallmarked in Chester, having the very first duty mark, imposed by King George III, to fund the war of Independence in the USA. The mark came into force on 1st December 1784, means that the watch case was made in the remainder of the Assay Office Year, for Chester that means it was completed by the 1st of July 1785.
An Act to repeal the duty on gold and silver plate used in Watch Cases.” The duty on watch cases ceased to be payable from 25 March 1798.
The Case Maker.
Henry Rigby of Liverpool, worked at Cable Street, then later at John Street. until his death in 1787.
A watch made by him dated 1781 is part of the Liverpool Museum Collection,
See (https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/artifact/pair-case-watch-21)
A clock by Henry Rigby also forms part of the Brown University Collection in the USA.
(See https://library.brown.edu/cds/clocks/renderclock.php?xmlfile=liverpool.xml)
Henry Rigby Life:
Henry Rigby was born in 1751 and married his wife Martha Woods at St Nicholas Church on 9th April 1775. Martha they had a son William on 2nd Dec 1777, christened at St Peters on 18th Jan 1778, William who then sadly died in Jun 1785, then Martha died in April 1786 aged , Henry himself died in July 1787 aged only 36 and he was buried on 17th July 1787.
The whole family were buried in St Mary, Walton on the Hill Liverpool, said to be ‘St Mary’s Church, the original mother church of Liverpool’.
Henry the watchmaker was noted for both his clocks and watches, and at least one example is housed in Liverpool Museum. Henry took on Apprentices at his workshop and details are captured in official records. The similarities of design of this one can be seen in his own watch cases.
Hallmark Details:
The details of the hallmark as struck in the watch case:
The Walking Lion or the “lion passant” signifying – Sterling Silver
The Crowned Leopard’s Head – Hallmarked
This mark shows that the fineness of the metal meets a specified legal standard.
The Wheat Sheaves indicating – The Assay office at Chester
The Kings Head signifying – the Duty Mark
The duty mark was first struck in 1784. In that year and the following year, the kings head faced left and was debossed (indented) rather than embossed (raised up in relief). This mark has become known as the Incuse Duty Mark.
The incuse form of the duty mark with King George III’s head in profile was the first attempt by Goldsmiths Hall to show that tax had been paid by the maker on a particular piece of silver. This punch was only used between 1st December 1784 and May 1786,
Plate Duty was originally a tax of sixpence per troy ounce, and was re introduced in 1784it is often said to have been used by King George III (The Madness of King George) to cover the huge costs of fighting the war in the American colony, where the Americans were fighting the British for their independence, however the Act of parliament says it was to raise funds for “His Majesty the King and his heirs in perpetuity.
The Date Letter i indicating – the Assay office year.
The date letter i signifying the year 1784
Makers or Sponsors Mark – HR
Before sending items for hallmarking, a person had to enter their details and a unique punch mark at the assay office. The registered punch mark was impressed onto items before they were sent for assay. The mark originally indicated the master goldsmith in whose workshop the piece was made and became known as the “maker’s mark” although it was never intended for the purpose of identifying who actually made the item.
The case is marked HR for Henry Rigby of Liverpool.
Research continues into this watch and the makers history……