'Belonged to King Charles I' ______________________________ 'A Watch Now in Possession of the British Consul at Philadelphia.'
After his victory over Charles II, Oliver Cromwell wrote exultantly to England's Parliament telling how the enemy was beaten from hedge to hedge till he was finally driven into Worcester. There were 7,000 prisoners among the spoils of that fight. The royal carriage in which the King had been carried was there, too, and in that handsome carriage was a royal carriage watch, which also fell into the hands of the victorious Cromwell.
After all those years and through many and varying victimades (sp?) of fortune, this royal watch has finally found its way to Philadelphia, remaining still in the possession of a loyal subject of the King of England, Edward VII, who is living in the Quaker city. This timepiece of royalty, which stil ticks after a career of two hundred and sixty-two years, was made in 1640 for King Charles I by the royal watchmaker of that time.
King Charles I was beheaded two years before his son Charles II was defeated on and escaped from the field of Worcester.
It is of the oldest watchmaking pattern, being made entirely by hand and costling in its day a good round sum of money. The case is of solid silver, ornamented in beautiful pierced filigree work, and there is an outer case of copper with a handsome leather cover, silver studded. The royal watch runs thirty-six hours with one winding. Only one hand is used in designing the time.
There is a silver bell enclosed within the silver case, on which the hours are struck. There is also an alarm attachment. The watch is fou and one-half inches in diameter, and one and a half inches thick.
Cromwell kept it as a personal possession for years. But after the restoration it fell into the hands of Joseph Kipling, Enq., of Overstone House, North Hants, England, an ancestor of Rudyard Kipling. Joseph Kipling was also an ancestor of Wilfred Powell, British consul at the port of Philadelphia, the present owner of the watch.
From "Medford Mail Tribune" (Medford, Oregon) dated March 14, 1912:
WATCH OF KING GEORGE III
CAPTION FROM THE NEWSPAPER:
One of the most interesting pieces in the collection of antique objects now on exhibition in a New York gallery is a personal watch of King George III, of England, which was given by him to Sir Francis Miliam, who held a position at court. The date of the gold mark is 1789, and there is an inscription in Latin which is quite legible. The watch was bought from Sir Francis' great-grandson in London in 1911.
on December 13, 2011, 8:00 pm
