Wiganers at Work

This clock was recently purchased by me at auction. It was made by George Esplin of Wigan. George died in 1854, though the business - known as 'The Illuminated Clock' and situated in Wallgate 'between the two railways' - continued for a while after his death. It was then taken over by Royle and Rawson, who seem to have ceased trading in the late 1880's or early 1890's. In the 1851 census of Wallgate, George is said to have employed 30 men, so it seems unlikely he had a hand in producing the clock, but the links to Wigan and my family drew me to it: George was the cousin of Wigan clock and watch maker Thomas Milner the elder, my 3rd great-grandfather; Thomas's father William and George's mother Elizabeth were siblings and born in Rastrick/Brighouse in the late 1700's. Elsewhere in this photo archive, there is a sketch of the Wallgate premises that appeared in the 1906 Wigan Observer. If anyone out there has clocks/watches made by Thomas Milner or George Esplin, by William Barton and/or Elizabeth Barton (George's step father and mother), or by Barton and Esplin (George and his mother, who were in partnership between about 1838 and 1841), I would be very interested in seeing them.