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| Huntingdon museum in bid to buy Oliver Cromwell's watch | |
| (4 months later) | |
| The watch's key has long-since vanished but "at more than 350 years old, it's quite fragile, so we wouldn't want to wind it", according to curator Stuart Orme | The watch's key has long-since vanished but "at more than 350 years old, it's quite fragile, so we wouldn't want to wind it", according to curator Stuart Orme |
| A museum which tells the story of Oliver Cromwell is hoping to acquire an "astonishingly small and beautiful" pocket watch believed to have been owned by the statesman. | A museum which tells the story of Oliver Cromwell is hoping to acquire an "astonishingly small and beautiful" pocket watch believed to have been owned by the statesman. |
| The "Puritan-style", silver-cased timepiece was sold at auction in 2019 by a descendent of John Blackwell, one of Cromwell's officers. | |
| Stuart Orme, curator of the Cromwell Museum in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, said it "has provenance, which is the key thing when trying to tie an object to notable people from history". | Stuart Orme, curator of the Cromwell Museum in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, said it "has provenance, which is the key thing when trying to tie an object to notable people from history". |
| The museum needs to raise £9,500 to match funding in grants to add the watch to its collection. The only other surviving watch associated with the 17th Century parliamentarian is in the British Museum, London. | |
| The 3cm (1.18in)-long timepiece came from watchmaker William Clay, whose premises were two doors down from Cromwell's King Street address in Westminster, London, in 1647 | The 3cm (1.18in)-long timepiece came from watchmaker William Clay, whose premises were two doors down from Cromwell's King Street address in Westminster, London, in 1647 |
| "It's remarkable the watch has been passed down through the generations for 350 years," said Mr Orme. | "It's remarkable the watch has been passed down through the generations for 350 years," said Mr Orme. |
| "It helps add to the provenance that it's said to have been gifted to Blackwell, but it was also made by a watchmaker who lived two doors down from Cromwell in London from 1647." | "It helps add to the provenance that it's said to have been gifted to Blackwell, but it was also made by a watchmaker who lived two doors down from Cromwell in London from 1647." |
| Blackwell's descendants believed he gave the watch to their ancestor while on campaign in 1650. The officer was Cromwell's military treasurer - and married to one of his cousins. | Blackwell's descendants believed he gave the watch to their ancestor while on campaign in 1650. The officer was Cromwell's military treasurer - and married to one of his cousins. |
| Blackwell was also prominent during the Civil War leader's rule as Lord Protector in the 1650s and, many decades later, became governor of Pennsylvania. | Blackwell was also prominent during the Civil War leader's rule as Lord Protector in the 1650s and, many decades later, became governor of Pennsylvania. |
| Cromwell would have worn the "astonishingly small and beautiful item" on a chain, tucking it into his waistcoat when not in use, said Mr Orme | Cromwell would have worn the "astonishingly small and beautiful item" on a chain, tucking it into his waistcoat when not in use, said Mr Orme |
| The timepiece, with its delicately etched image of a hand with pointed finger, is "of a style known as a Puritan watch". | The timepiece, with its delicately etched image of a hand with pointed finger, is "of a style known as a Puritan watch". |
| Mr Orme said: "Seventeenth Century watches were completely over the top, with pierced foliate on the outside, whereas this is quite small and, to our modern eye, it appears classically beautiful." | Mr Orme said: "Seventeenth Century watches were completely over the top, with pierced foliate on the outside, whereas this is quite small and, to our modern eye, it appears classically beautiful." |
| Puritans were Protestants who, like Cromwell, thought the Reformation of the Church of England had not gone far enough. | Puritans were Protestants who, like Cromwell, thought the Reformation of the Church of England had not gone far enough. |
| Such a watch was also quite an expensive status symbol for the parliamentarian, who was second-in-command by 1647 but "not quite as austere as people think". | Such a watch was also quite an expensive status symbol for the parliamentarian, who was second-in-command by 1647 but "not quite as austere as people think". |
| It will be on display in the museum, which holds a huge collection of objects relating to Cromwell's life and times, until 10 November. | It will be on display in the museum, which holds a huge collection of objects relating to Cromwell's life and times, until 10 November. |
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