John Knibb
| John Knibb | |
|---|---|
| Born |
21 January 1650 1650 Claydon, Oxfordshire |
| Died | 18 July 1722 (aged 72) Oxford |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | Clock- and watchmaker |
John Knibb (1650–1722) was an English clockmaker born in Claydon, Oxfordshire. He produced various clocks and watches including bracket clocks, lantern clocks, longcase clocks and some wall-clocks, as well as building and maintaining several turret clocks. Even though his main market was catering to customers of modest means, he also dominated the higher-quality sector. Only six of Knibb's watches are known to survive.
Knibb was born in 1650, the sixth son of Thomas and Elizabeth Knibb of Claydon, Oxfordshire. He was cousin to the clock- and instrument maker Samuel Knibb (1625–70) and younger brother of the distinguished clock- and watchmaker Joseph Knibb (1640–1711).
In about 1664 Knibb moved from Claydon to Oxford to join his elder brother as either an apprentice or an assistant. In 1670 Samuel Knibb died and Joseph moved to London to replace him, leaving John in charge in Oxford. However, John was not a freeman of the City of Oxford, so all the clocks that he made still had to be signed "Joseph Knibb".
In 1672 Knibb applied to become a freeman of Oxford, and the Mayor and City Council proposed that he should be admitted for a fee of £30. Knibb considered this excessive so he asked Brome Whorwood, one of the two MPs for Oxford, to intervene. Under Whorwood's persuasion the Council reduced the fee to 20 marks (£13 6s 8d) and admitted Knibb as a freeman in April 1673.
Knibb and his wife Elizabeth had three sons and five daughters between 1679 and 1695. Four of their daughters predeceased them. Knibb died at Oxford in 1722, followed by his widow Elizabeth in 1726. They are buried at St Cross parish church with their four daughters.
John and Elizabeth were survived by their one remaining daughter and three sons, of whom the youngest, Joseph (born 1695), had been apprenticed to a London clockmaker in 1710. Knibb left young Joseph only one shilling in his will, because he had already inherited a legacy of £200 from his uncle Joseph, who died in 1711.
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