Monday 14th July 2014
A longcase clock made by Edward Cockey of Warminster sold on eBay on Saturday (12th July 2014) for £2,550. Up for auction, the clock, mistakenly listed by the seller as being the work of Edward Corkey, was described as being in “an oak case with a mahogany veneer, 7 feet 2 inches high; keys for the case but no key for the clock, some scratches and marks over the body of the clock.”
The seller, Mike, with an eBay user name of mrayre, admitted he knew nothing about clocks. The starting price for the clock was £4.99 but 30 bids later the auction ended at 4.15 p.m. on Saturday, with a final price of £2,550. The buyer has to collect the clock in person from the Bristol BS13 area or arrange his or her own courier.
Edward Cockey (1669-1768) made his name with a series of astronomical clocks, some supplied to Queen Anne and Lord Weymouth of Longleat. His life and work is revealed in David Pollard’s book The Astronomical Clockmaker Edward Cockey And Other Warminster Horologists, published in 1998 by Bedeguar Books.