ROTHERHAMS
OUR LONG & ILLUSTRIOUS HISTORY
Historically, the city of Coventry is known to have been an intrinsic and very important centre of English watchmaking and engineering heritage.
The main period of watchmaking in the city was between the 1740s to around 1920, with several thousand people being employed in the industry.
Coventry was particularly well located being in the heart of England where goods were manufactured, exchanged and dispatched to all parts of the country.
In 1899, Rotherhams was a major employer and manufacturer, with 400-500 employees plus approximately 200 outworkers, producing 100 watches per day.
COVENTRY ENGLAND
Rotherhams HERITAGE
Rotherhams 1750 Ltd can trace its origins back to the City of Coventry, England in the year 1747.
In 1747, Samuel Vale established the firm of Vale & Sons and to celebrate this fact, the Coventry Watch Museum Project – in conjunction with the Watchmaking Heritage Trail 2000 - commissioned a blue plaque in recognition of Samuel Vale and ‘the world famous clock and watchmaking manufacturer Rotherham and Sons’. This plaque is erected on the only surviving building of this historic Company on Spon Street, Coventry which was the Rotherhams factory.
In 1790, Richard Kevitt Rotherham, a former apprentice working with Samuel Vale, was listed as a partner in the firm of Vale, Howlette, Carr and Rotherham. In 1842 it was transferred from Vale, Howlette, Carr and Rotherham to Richard Kevitt Rotherham & Sons.
The first punch mark, entered by John Rotherham at the Birmingham Assay Office as early as April 1841, bore the initials R&S for Rotherham & Sons, and in 1850 the company became known simply by this name.
In the late 1800s, whilst Rotherhams main factory for production remained in Coventry, the Company also opened offices in Holborn Circus, London which became the Head Office for a time. Hence why some of the watches from around this period are signed ‘Rotherhams, London’.
Since then, the Company has been in the hands of various owners continuing as an engineering business, and still to this day, produces many engineered parts carrying the Rotherhams name. Our factory is still located in Coventry, England - in fact, only a few miles from its original location where the blue plaque is sited.
Today, Rotherhams 1750 Ltd manufacture superb timepieces to celebrate this wonderful history of watchmaking and engineering expertise here in Coventry, England.
HAND CRAFTED SINCE 1750
HANDCRAFTED SINCE 1750
Rotherhams movements historically all had, with one exception, either full-plate keywound with a modified Bosley and a raised silvered index or, alternatively, three-quarter plate keyless, with a Swiss-style index. They had a split bi-metallic balance and were spring barrel driven. The frames were stamped with the Rotherham trademark. Where appropriate, the dustcovers were stamped Patd 7204 and, in general, were signed on the back plate.
HAND CRAFTED SINCE 1750
UNIQUE HERITAGE
It is documented that Charles Dickens, the great novelist, visited the Rotherhams watchmaking factory at Coventry in the year 1857, by which time the Company had already been established for over a hundred years.
It is reported that Charles Dickens had a tour of the workshop and factory during this visit.
Charles Dickens returned to the City of Coventry in the following year, 1858, where he was presented with a Rotherhams gold case pocket watch in appreciation of his help with the Coventry Institute.
MOTORCYCLING HERITAGE
AUTOMOBILE, MOTORCYCLING, AVIATION & MARINE HERITAGE
By 1937 Rotherhams had seen rapid diversification and growth in the engineering part of the business and efforts were concentrated in other areas rather than in growing the watchmaking operation.
Rotherhams were, and continue to be, involved in producing engineered products for the automobile and motorcycling industries, along with aviation and marine to name but a few.
NEVER FOUND WANTING
