Isaac Newton clock replica unveiled at the Museum of Timekeeping, Upton Hall

A replica of a water clock created by Sir Isaac Newton was unveiled at the Museum of Timekeeping, Upton Hall, on Friday.

The museum’s trustees hosted 30 guests for the unveiling of the replica, which Newton created as a teenager.

They included the chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council, Kevin Rostance, the chairman of Newark and Sherwood District Council, Robert Crowe and Mrs Rita Crowe, the Mayor of Newark, Mrs Irene Brown, the chairman of Southwell Town Council, Mrs Lyn Harris, and the Dean of Southwell, the Very Rev Nicola Sullivan.

With no drawings available, horologist Jim Arnfield and his team used copies of notes made by Newton in order to design and make the clock.

The original idea came from a meeting that the museum’s chairman, Viscount Alan Midleton, and the chief development officer, John Hope, had with Jennifer Johns from The National Trust’s Woolsthorpe Manor, Newton’s home.

After the unveiling, Jim Arnfield gave a presentation on how the team had ensured authenticity by using only materials that would have been available during Newton’s childhood.

He showed illustrations of water clocks which, along with sundials, dominated time-telling for centuries before mechanical clocks arrived.

As well as keeping the museum’s clocks working, Jim and his team have completed projects including the solar-powered Millennium Clock and the 150 Clock in the Grand Hall.

The museum also houses the original Speaking Clock, and the watch of Captain Scott of the Antarctic.

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