Our heritage · Salisbury, England
For generations, the Bennett name was associated with the craft of watchmaking in Salisbury. That history remains at the heart of Bennett Salisbury today.
A Salisbury watchmaking family
The story begins with William Bennett, whose watchmaking is recorded in Salisbury at the turn of the nineteenth century. Across three generations, the family continued its trade through changing times, places and partnerships.
The first generation
The first Bennett family watchmaker. The earliest written reference to his watchmaking is an advert in the Salisbury Journal in 1802, announcing his shop’s relocation from the High Street to the Marketplace.
An extraordinary pursuit
After his shop in the Marketplace was robbed, William followed the thieves to London, where he apprehended them and recovered his stolen goods. Among the items returned were gold and silver watches, gold chains, seals and rings.
The second generation
James continued the family’s watchmaking trade. In 1855 he entered a new chapter, forming the business known as Bennett and Clench alongside his former apprentice, James Clench.
A Salisbury partnership
The partnership advertised its work as goldsmiths, jewellers and watchmakers from Castle Street, Market-Place. The surviving advert records the breadth of the firm’s trade in Victorian Salisbury.
The family business
Following James’s death, Mary briefly took over the family businesses, before passing Bennett and Clench down to her son Edmund Bennett.
The third generation
James and Mary’s son Edmund carried the family name into the later nineteenth century, continuing the Salisbury business and its tradition of fine timepieces.
The past, carried forward
Today, Bennett Salisbury looks to the forms and details of historic pocket watches to shape a new generation of wristwatches — preserving the spirit of the original craft while making it relevant to the present.
Discover the watches ↗