Nat Gould

Benjamin Vulliamy 1747-1811

Benjamin Vulliamy was born on 27 August 1747 and baptised on 20 September 1747 in London.
He was the son of Francois Justin Vulliamy 1712-1797 and his wife née Mary Gray 1707-1783.

His father, known as Justin Vulliamy, was Swiss born and went to London in about 1730. He joined the business of Benjamin Gray, a renowned clock maker in Pall Mall and married his daughter Mary Gray 1707-1783. Eventually he succeeded Benjamin Gray in the business, and worked in London for the rest of his life, and succeeded by his son Benjamin Vulliamy 1747-1811.

Benjamin Vulliamy himself was the famous clockmaker who built the Regulator Clock (1) for the King's Observatory at Kew in London (2). It served as the Prime Meridian and provided the official London time from 1780 until Greenwich Royal Observatory took over in 1884. On 4 December 1809 he was made a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Clock-Makers in London.

He married Sarah de Gingins 1758-1841 on 17 April 1779 in London. They lived at 74-76 Pall Mall, and later in Kensington (3).

They had the following children:

Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy. He was born in 1780 and died in 1854.

Mary Vulliamy 1781-1865. She was born in 1781 and died in 1865. She was twice married, first to Charles Worsley Boys 1779–1809 and after he died to William Varlo Hellyer 1780-1868. By her first marriage she had a son Charles Boys.

Sarah Vulliamy. She was born in 1783 and died in 1841.

Francis Vulliamy. He was born in 1785 and died in 1846.

Justin Theodore Vulliamy. He was born in 1787 and died in 1870.

Frances Lucy Vulliamy. She was born in 1789, and baptised on 7 October 1800 at St Mary Abbots Church, Kensington in London. She died in 1846.

Lewis Vulliamy. He was born in 1791 and died in 1871.

Henry Vulliamy. He was born in 1793 and died in 1800.

Lucy Vulliamy. She was born in 1795 and died in 1804.

Frederick Vulliamy. He was born in 1803, and baptised on 19 September 1803 at St Mary Abbots Church, Kensington. He died in 1892.

Their father Benjamin Vulliamy died on 25 December 1811 in London.

His widow Sarah Vulliamy, who was born in France, returned to her native country, and died aged 83 years on 3 April 1841 at Placé, Mayenne, Pays de la Loire in France.

(1) A regulator clock is a highly accurate timepiece used for making precise measurements in conjunction with astronomical observation. The clock made by Benjamin Vulliamy for King George III is preserved in the Science Museum in London. Rollers acting as bearings for the wheelwork reduced friction and the need to lubricate. The clock was fitted with the grasshopper escapement invented by chronometer pioneer John Harrison 1693-1776, whose gridiron pendulum was also fitted to ensure that the clock kept good time by compensating for temperature changes.
(2) Checking timepieces as being correct by the Observatory at Kew is believed to be the origin of the expression OK.
(3) London Land Tax Records 1806 and 1810.