Bartholomew Newsam

Bartholomew Newsam (* before 1558 probably in York ; † 1593 ; also Newsham) was the court clockmaker of Elizabeth I , Queen of England .

Newsam had been running a watchmaker's business in London , apparently since Queen Elizabeth I came to power in 1558. He was given a thirty year lease from the Crown on April 8, 1565 for premises in Strand , near Somerset House , where he is stayed throughout his life.

Newsam was skilled in his craft and well acquainted with Philip Sidney and other men of influence at court. Around 1572, four years after the death of Nicholas Urseau , the Queen's court watchmaker, Newsam was offered his post. Urseau already held the office under Queen Maria I Tudor and was reappointed by Queen Elizabeth I. Newsam came into office before 1582. On June 4, 1583 he received, under the privy seal , backdated to May 27, “32s. 8d. for mending of clockes “(32s. 8d. for the repair of clocks) in the previous year. He combined the post of watchmaker at the same time with that of the "clock-keeper" ( watch keepers ); Both offices were held by different persons under Queen Mary's reign and Newsam seems to have been the first Englishman to be appointed clock-keeper.

On August 5, 1583 Newsam wrote to his good friend Sir Francis Walsingham ("to the ryghte honorable his very speciall good ffriend Sr ffrancis Walsingham, knighte") asking him to extend his lease on the house in The Strand ("to be mindfull unto her Ma [jes] tie of my booke concerninge my long and chargeable suite, wherein I have procured Sir Philipp Sidney to move you for th 'augmentinge of the yeares (if by any meanes the same may be) ”). On September 6, 1583 Newsam received by a Letters Patent a lease twenty-one years lands in Fleet in the county of Lincolnshire , which formerly owned by Henry Gray, Marquess of Dorset later, the Duke of Suffolk, were; There is also a water mill in Wymondham with fishing grounds, formerly owned by Wymondham Monastery and other properties in Pembroke and the parish of St Clement Danes . The property in Pembroke previously belonged to Jasper Tudor , Duke of Bedford . Newsam also owned land on Coney Street in the parish of St. Martin, York. Newsam died before December 18, 1593; on that day his will was confirmed by his widow Parnell. In his estate there were various clocks that underlined his skills as a watchmaker. His son Edward, who also showed a talent for watchmaking, received his father's tools, except for his best vice and a few small tools, which went to John Newsam in York, also a watchmaker and probably a relative.

Preserved watches

A table clock with a striking mechanism from Newsam has been preserved in the British Museum in almost pristine condition. The case is made of gilt brass and richly engraved, the clock is very small, no more than four inches (approx. 10 cm) high and contains a compass; it is signed “Bartilmewe Newsvm”. The work is divided into two levels, the movement in the upper and the striking mechanism in the lower level. Both movements are arranged vertically so that the clock is wound from below. The wheels are made of iron, possibly also steel, the plates and the frame of brass. She has snails with gut strings that are long and only slightly tapered. The single pointer is driven directly by the worm gear at a right angle via the crown wheel. A Foliot is used as a regulator .

Another of his table clocks is kept in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York .

family

Newsam married Parnell Younge on September 10, 1565 at St Mary le Strand Church . He had four children: Wilhelm, born December 27, 1570, Edward, Margaret and Rose.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} G. H. Baillie: Watchmakers & Clockmakers of the World . Third Edition, NAG Press Ltd., London 1966.
2. ^ Industries - Clock and watch-making | A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 2 (pp. 158-165). In: british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved July 31, 2012 . 
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Newsam, Bartholomew (DNB00) - Wikisource, the free online library. In: en.wikisource.org. Retrieved July 31, 2012 . 
4. ^ British Museum - Search object details. In: britishmuseum.org. Retrieved July 31, 2012 . 
5. ^ The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Search the Collections. In: metmuseum.org. Retrieved August 1, 2012 .