Thwaites & Reed
Thwaites & Reed is a historic British clock manufacturer known for turret, domestic, musical and replica clocks.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Thwaites & Reed is a British clockmaking firm associated with the manufacture, installation, maintenance and restoration of turret and domestic clocks. The business traces its origins to approximately 1735, when Aynsworth Thwaites established a clockmaking operation in London. It was recorded in Rosoman Street, Clerkenwell, by 1740 and later moved to Bowling Green Lane. The company became one of the most prolific English makers of large public clocks and domestic timepieces, and it claims an uninterrupted manufacturing tradition dating from its foundation. The firm’s early work included large public and institutional commissions. Its earliest recorded commission still in use is associated with the Horse Guards Parade clock, begun in the eighteenth century. Other documented historic installations include clocks for the East India Company, the Royal Small Arms Factory, the Bank of England, churches and civic buildings in Britain, and institutions in Australia, South Africa, the United States, Bermuda, Brazil and elsewhere. A company catalogue published in 1878 stated that more than 4,000 church and turret clocks had been produced since the business began. The firm also supplied clock movements to established makers and retailers, including Dutton, Dwerrihouse, Ellicott, Vulliamy, the Franklin Mint, Asprey and Garrards. The business developed through several related trading names. John Thwaites succeeded Aynsworth Thwaites and led the firm from about 1780. He partnered with George Jeremiah Reed in 1816, and following John Thwaites’s death in 1826, his widow Henrietta continued the partnership with Reed, establishing the Thwaites & Reed name. After George Jeremiah Reed’s death, his son John Thwaites Reed led the firm. In 1856, Thomas Buggins acquired the business, beginning four generations of Buggins family involvement. Geoffrey Buggins MBE was the last member of the original clockmaking family to operate the firm. In addition to clock manufacture, Thwaites & Reed developed specialist mechanisms and claimed in the nineteenth century to have invented the spiral door-spring. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries it described itself as a maker of church, factory, house and carriage clocks and as a supplier to public bodies including the Board of Ordnance, the Royal Navy, the Board of Excise, the East India Company, the City of London and the Bank of England. The firm also maintained the clocks at the Palace of Westminster for approximately thirty years. Post-war economic conditions placed pressure on the traditional family business. Simon Mackay, later Lord Tanlaw, became a temporary owner and chairman from 1971 to 1974 and helped finance an ambitious series of limited-edition replica clocks. Between 1972 and 1980, the company produced more than 10,000 replicas across several designs, including Benjamin Franklin, Congreve rolling-ball, skeleton, inclined-plane, rack and rising-works drum clocks, as well as reproductions of the historical Giovanni de Dondi clock. In 1977, a Thwaites & Reed team led by John Vernon participated in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster clock following a structural failure. The company was transferred as a going concern to the National Enterprise Board and sold in 1978 to F. W. Elliott Ltd. It subsequently passed from the Elliott family to the Lee family in 1991. The company has continued to be associated with the manufacture and servicing of turret and domestic clocks. Its historic reputation rests on a combination of long-term production, major public installations, specialist movement manufacture and conservation of significant horological mechanisms.
History
Thwaites & Reed’s history reaches back to the London clockmaking trade of the eighteenth century. Aynsworth Thwaites is credited with founding the business around 1735, and the firm was documented in Clerkenwell by 1740. Its early operations developed in a district associated with precision trades and clockmaking. After later moving to Bowling Green Lane, the company expanded its output from domestic timepieces to large turret and institutional clocks. John Thwaites became the firm’s leading figure from about 1780. He later entered into partnership with George Jeremiah Reed in 1816. When John Thwaites died in 1826, his widow Henrietta continued the business with Reed. This partnership gave the company the Thwaites & Reed name that became its enduring identity. The firm’s subsequent leadership included John Thwaites Reed, Reed’s son, and then Thomas Buggins, who purchased the business in 1856. The company remained under Buggins family influence for four generations, ending with Geoffrey Buggins MBE. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Thwaites & Reed produced a broad range of public and private clocks. Its work included turret clocks for churches, government facilities, military sites, banks, schools and civic buildings, as well as domestic, carriage and musical clocks. A catalogue issued in 1878 claimed that over 4,000 church and turret clocks had been made since the business began. The firm also supplied movements to other historic clockmakers, making it both a finished-clock producer and an important trade supplier. Its historic customer and installation base extended beyond Britain to the Ottoman market, North America, Australia, South Africa, South America and other regions. The firm’s institutional role included maintaining the clocks of the Palace of Westminster for about thirty years. It also worked on mechanisms associated with prominent public landmarks, including the Bank of England and the clock at Horse Guards Parade. In the nineteenth century, the company promoted itself as a supplier to several government and public bodies. It additionally claimed responsibility for the original invention of a spiral door-spring, said to have been used at the Bank of England and other public establishments. The business faced the changing economics of traditional manufacturing after the Second World War. Geoffrey Buggins recognized that the historic operating model was difficult to sustain. Horologist Simon Mackay, later Lord Tanlaw, took an interest in the company, becoming temporary owner and chairman from 1971 to 1974. During this period, he financed a program of mechanically ambitious replica clocks. From 1972 through 1980, the firm produced limited editions based on designs such as the Benjamin Franklin clock, the Congreve rolling-ball clock, skeleton clocks, inclined-plane mechanisms and rising-works drum clocks. Peter Haward and John Vernon were among the clockmakers associated with this work. In 1977, a company team led by John Vernon helped oversee the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster clock after a structural failure. Around the same period, the family business was transferred as a going concern to the National Enterprise Board. The board sold it to F. W. Elliott Ltd in 1978, ending the Buggins family’s direct connection with the business. The Elliott family later sold the company to the Lee family in 1991. Thwaites & Reed has since remained associated with turret-clock and domestic-clock manufacture, supported by its historical records, accumulated technical knowledge and continuing connection with specialist horology.
- 1991
Ownership passes to the Lee family
[1]The Elliott family sold the business to the Lee family.
- 1982
Royal warrant granted
[1]The firm was appointed Turret Clockmakers to HM The Queen.
- 1978
Business sold to F. W. Elliott Ltd
[1]The National Enterprise Board sold the business to F. W. Elliott Ltd, ending the Buggins family’s direct ownership.
- 1977
Palace of Westminster clock rebuilding
[1]A Thwaites & Reed team led by John Vernon helped oversee rebuilding work on the Palace of Westminster clock after a structural failure.
- 1972
Limited-edition replica program begins
[1]The firm began producing a series of mechanically complex replica clocks, ultimately making more than 10,000 examples across several designs.
- 1971
Simon Mackay becomes temporary owner and chairman
[1]Horologist Simon Mackay took a temporary ownership and chairmanship role and supported the company’s replica-clock program.
- 1878
Catalogue records large-scale production
[1]A company catalogue claimed that more than 4,000 church and turret clocks had been made since the firm’s establishment.
- 1856
Buggins family ownership begins
[1]Thomas Buggins purchased the business, beginning four generations of Buggins family involvement.
- 1826
Thwaites & Reed name established
[1]Following John Thwaites’s death, Henrietta Thwaites continued the business with George Jeremiah Reed, establishing the enduring company name.
- 1816
Partnership with George Jeremiah Reed
[1]John Thwaites entered into partnership with George Jeremiah Reed.
Products and positioning
A heritage British horology specialist positioned around long-standing craftsmanship, custom public-clock engineering, historic restoration and mechanically complex clocks.
Public and institutional clocks
Turret and tower clocks
Large mechanical and later electrically assisted clocks designed for churches, civic buildings, factories, military sites and other public structures. Historic examples associated with the firm include the Horse Guards Parade clock, church and tower clocks across Britain, and installations in Australia, South Africa, the United States, Bermuda and Brazil. The company’s turret-clock work has also included maintenance, rebuilding and restoration rather than only new manufacture.
Household clocks
Domestic clocks
The firm made domestic clocks in several formats, including long-case clocks and other clock types for private interiors. Company records indicate that 2,978 numbered domestic clocks had been produced by 1900, although not every clock was included in the surviving numbering records. Domestic production formed an important complement to the company’s better-known public-clock commissions.
Specialist mechanical clocks
Musical clocks
Thwaites & Reed produced rare musical clocks incorporating timekeeping with mechanical musical functions. These pieces belonged to the firm’s broader nineteenth-century range of technically elaborate domestic and specialty clocks and helped establish its reputation beyond standard turret-clock manufacture.
Replica and collector clocks · 1972
Limited-edition replica clocks
Between 1972 and 1980, the company produced a substantial series of limited-edition replicas and interpretations of historically notable mechanisms. Designs included a Benjamin Franklin clock, a Congreve rolling-ball clock, reproductions of the Giovanni de Dondi clock, skeleton clocks, and inclined-plane, rack and rising-works drum clocks. More than 10,000 replicas were produced across the series.
Horological components
Clock movements
The firm supplied movements to other clockmakers and retailers, including historic makers such as Dutton, Dwerrihouse, Ellicott and Vulliamy, and later commercial names including the Franklin Mint, Asprey and Garrards. During the period of F. W. Elliott Ltd ownership, some movements were also made under the Elliott brand.
Brand decisions
1991
Sale to the Lee familyM&ABackground
After a period under F. W. Elliott Ltd ownership, the business changed hands again.
Action taken
The Elliott family sold Thwaites & Reed to the Lee family.
Aftermath
The firm remained associated with turret-clock and domestic-clock manufacture.
1978
Sale to F. W. Elliott LtdM&ABackground
The business was reorganized as a modern incorporated going concern after the historic family operation became difficult to sustain independently.
Action taken
The National Enterprise Board sold Thwaites & Reed to F. W. Elliott Ltd.
Aftermath
The company continued operating under new ownership, while the Buggins family’s direct connection with the business ended.
1971
Back investment in replica clocksStrategyBackground
The traditional family business faced difficulty adapting to post-war economic conditions, while specialist mechanical horology offered a potential route to preserve skills and create a new collector market.
Action taken
Simon Mackay supported and financed a program of limited-edition replica clocks, produced from 1972 through 1980.
Aftermath
The program generated more than 10,000 clocks across multiple designs and became a notable late-twentieth-century chapter in the company’s history.
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