William Preddy was one of three clockmakers known to have been working in Langport in the early 19th century, the others being William Sully and John Couzens. Preddy was born in Taunton on 17 June 1790 and probably started out in business there. His father, who was a baker, went bankrupt in 1815, and these financial difficulties may be why his shop in East Street was to let in 1814 and for sale in 1815. Nevertheless, by 1822 he was working in Langport, where he remained until 1839.
He must have done reasonably well for himself, as he is recorded as having a freehold house and land in Cheap Street. Moore’s Clockmakers of Somerset states that “In the seventeen years that he was in business he seems to have sold more clocks than any of his competitors, many with unusual automata in the dials”. Moore recorded (in 1998) that 19 Preddy clocks were known to be still in existence. Some are certainly still going strong in local homes.
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