needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . march 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message smith of derby group type public company founded 1856 products clocks website http www.smithofderby.com founded in 1856 the smith of derby group are clockmakers based in derby derbyshire uk . the smith of derby business has been running continuously under 5 generations of the smith family . 1 contents 1 history 2 public clock installations in europe 3 public clock installations in the asia 4 record holding clocks 5 other notable projects 6 further reading 7 references 8 external links history edit john smith 1813 1886 clockmaker and the original founder of today s smith of derby group the earliest origins of smith of derby s history began before the company was established in 1856 . john whitehurst i started making clocks in england in 1708 . his son john whitehurst ii 10 april 1713 18 february 1788 was tutored in the art of clockmaking by his father and also became a clockmaker innovator and renowned scientist . he started a clockmaking business in derby in 1736 at 22 irongate derby . the third john whitehurst iii then carried on the family clockmaking tradition . john smith 21 december 1813 1886 2 became an apprentice to john whitehurst iii in 1827 . he went on to be the founder of a new clockmaking company in 1856 first establishing his business in premises at 27 queen street in derby . 3 the queen street premises originally belonged to john whitehurst and it was the whitehurst family home . after the death of john whitehurst iii john smith became through reputation and craftsmanship his successor . john smith s new company flourished during the industrial revolution . when he died in 1886 his two sons frank and john took over the running of the family business . under frank smith the company were responsible for building the huge turret clock for st paul s cathedral in 1893 . citation needed frank smith died in 1913 and the company was run by staff until frank s son alan was old enough to take over the running of the business . alan smith was succeeded by howard smith who in turn was succeeded by nicholas smith . during the 20th century smith and sons expanded through the acquisition of a variety of businesses . clockmakers william potts & sons leeds were established in 1833 and acquired by smith of derby in 1933 ; laying claim to be the oldest clockmakers in the world j. b. joyce & company of whitchurch were responsible for many clocks internationally and were acquired by smith of derby in 1965 ; citation needed george & francis cope were established in 1845 as producers of chronometers for the admiralty they joined smith of derby in 1984 . citation needed in 1985 they acquired b & h derby ltd and became today s smith of derby group . public clock installations in europe edit this list is incomplete ; you can help by expanding it . the cathedral clock originally manufactured and installed by john smith and sons in 1893 at st paul s cathedral in london trinity college clock cambridge 1910 cathedral clock at st paul s cathedral london cathedral quarter hotel clock in derby temple court time feature at minories shopping centre birmingham grand brasserie clock at st pancras station london hourglass clock at burghley house near stamford planisphere at bluewater shopping centre kent light clock at royal derby hospital derby restoration of original medieval salisbury cathedral clock in salisbury restoration of the blair castle clock tower destroyed by fire in blair atholl perthshire portsmouth guildhall bell tower restoration portsmouth h. samuel clock 1963 hanging outside cardiff market high street cardiff . 4 pierhead clock 1897 restored and reinstalled by smith of derby in 2011 as public art in st mary street cardiff the dna clock 2011 located in the foyer of redcar hospital the jubilee clock tower located in maidenhead berkshire england just outside the station in the town centre was built as part of the nation s celebrations for queen victoria s diamond jubilee in 1897 . town hall clock in grampound cornwall . 1894 public clock installations in the asia edit this list is incomplete ; you can help by expanding it . nagercoil clock tower nagercoil india dna clock at king faisal university dammam saudi arabia tower clock at sultan qaboos grand mosque muscat oman 16 operational clocks in mecca makkah holy haram saudi arabia town clock at dammam saudi arabia seif palace kuwait city kuwait al mustansiriya university baghdad iraq beach rotana hotel abu dhabi united arab emirates central bank of oman muscat oman souq square nizwa oman ismaili centre jamatkhana hyderabad pakistan record holding clocks edit the world s highest building mounted clock above street level at the boeing headquarters in chicago by smith of derby . photographer j. crocker guinness world records the world s largest pendulum regulated clock is the harmony tower in ganzhou china 5 guinness world records the world s largest steam clock is on the north quay at st helier jersey the world s largest solar powered clock is called the beacon and is installed as a feature clock at the university of baghdad . 6 the world s largest inclined clock is at time square in al ain uae 7 the world s highest building mounted clock above street level is 170 metres above street level and is mounted on top of boeing s headquarters in chicago 8 the world s largest mechanical tower clock is also the harmony tower in ganzhou china 9 the world s most remote public clock is owned by the queen of tonga 10 in addition to these clock installations smith of derby is also considered to be the manufacturers of the world s most expensive islamic prayer clocks . 11 the prayer clocks are customisable and can be designed to include precious metals and gems . 12 other notable projects edit the rotating globe kinetic sculptural installation at the coliseum theatre in london by smith of derby foucault pendulum in the donnan and robinson laboratory at liverpool university rotating steel globe on the coliseum theatre london 13 one revolution per day pendulum sculpture in davos switzerland eleanor cross in stamford lincolnshire zoetrope in billinghay lincolnshire 14 clock mechanism in herne bay clock tower replaced by the company with synchronous electric hour striking unit in 1971 . 15 further reading edit craven maxwell 1996 . john whitehurst of derby clockmaker and scientist 1713 88 . derbyshire ashbourne . isbn 0 9523270 3 1 . craven maxwell 2011 . the smiths of derby a journey through time . derbyshire . isbn 978 0 9570846 0 5 . references edit smith of derby promotional brochure smith of derby 5 generations of clockmakers horological institute book review january 2012 chris mckay mbhi reviews the book the smiths of derby a journey through time for the british horological journal picture the past website picture showing location of john smith s first premises in derby cardiff landmark clock in st mary street to be restored . bbc news . 20 july 2011 . retrieved 26 march 2013 . largest pendulum regulated clock detailing the guinness world record held by smith of derby . craven maxwell 2011 . the smiths of derby a journey through time . derbyshire . isbn 978 0 9570846 0 5 . largest inclined clock in the world the world s largest inclined clock in al ain united arab emirates . highest building mounted clock above street level pdf of financial times business guide to derby smith of derby appears on page 8 . largest mechanical clock guardian website coverage of the harmony tower clock built by smith of derby . about smith of derby video outlining all world records and patents held by smith of derby . world s most expensive islamic prayer clock luxury launches website coverage of the islamic prayer clock launched by smith of derby in may 2011 . islamic prayer clock details on smith of derby website details of the islamic prayer clock on the smith of derby website . coliseum theatre rotating globe rotating steel globe on the coliseum theatre in london . zoetrope sculptural installation zoetrope sculptural installation in billinghay lincolnshire . bundock mike 2000 . herne bay clock tower a descriptive history . herne bay pierhead publications . isbn 9780953897704 . page 18 http www.whitehurstclocks.com a brief history.html external links edit the british horological institute smith of derby group retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title smith of derby group & oldid 740782430 categories clockmakerscompanies based in derbycompanies established in 1856hidden categories articles needing additional references from march 2013all articles needing additional referencespages using infobox company with unsupported parametersall articles with unsourced statementsarticles with unsourced statements from march 2013incomplete lists from july 2012 navigation menu 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