The Society of Genealogists is delighted to offer a specially arranged 90-minute guided tour of The Clockworks, providing a rare opportunity to explore this remarkable institution in depth. Led by the museum curator, the tour provides a structured and informative experience. Participants will gain insight not only into the history of electrical timekeeping, but also into the stories of the inventors, engineers and horological pioneers represented in the museum’s holdings.
The Clockworks is the world's only museum and workshop dedicated to electrical horology. The collection includes nearly 200 examples of electrical clocks and associated technologies from across Europe. It charts the development of electrical and precision timekeeping, and the concept of synchronised, or ‘universal’ time - something we now take entirely for granted.
Early booking is recommended due to the limited capacity and the museum’s appointment-only access.
Contact events@sog.org.uk if you have any questions.
About the Curator
Dr Kirsten Tambling
Kirsten is the inaugural Curator of The Clockworks. She has previously worked in museums and collections including The Royal Collection, Bethlem Museum of the Mind, Dr Johnson’s House, The National Gallery and Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village, where she co-curated the exhibition James Henry Pullen: Inmate Inventor, Genius (2018).
Kirsten is interested in uncovering and sharing compelling narratives in historical collections; as well as curating exhibitions, she has written widely for publications including Apollo, Country Life, Literary Review and The Art Newspaper. Her research background is in eighteenth-century French and British art (the subject of her PhD, which dealt with seduction in the work of William Hogarth and Jean-Antoine Watteau). She has taught and lectured for the V&A, Birkbeck and The Courtauld Institute of Art, and between 2018-2022 was Research Associate on the ‘Shakespeare in the Royal Collection’ project led by King’s College, London, in partnership with the Royal Collection Trust.
Her monograph, Shakespearean Objects in the Royal Collection, 1714-1939 was published by Oxford University Press in September 2025.
12/02/2026
11:00 - 12:30
The Clockworks
90 minute guided tour