PZ8786

'Greenwich Mean Time...Mrs Belleville who checks the hour daily at the Greenwich Observatory for the benefit of London clockmakers' Long Caption: This is a half-tone photographic reproduction, probably from a periodical publication, showing the widow of John Henry Belville (1794-1856) who was an assistant at the Royal Observatory from 1811 under John Pond (6th Astronomer Royal) to his death, still in service, under Pond's successor George Airy. Belville was Pond's protégé and was known as 'Mr John Henry' at Greenwich to disguise the fact that his parentage was almost certainly French (his mother was possibly a refugee of the Revolution who arrived as a pregnant widow). From 1836 he established a weekly call - though probably not personally - on London's principal chronometer makers, with a pocket chronometer set to Greenwich time. On his death his widow Maria personally took over until her retirement at the age of 81 in 1892, being in turn succeeded by their daughter Ruth, who continued as 'the Greenwich time lady' until the 1930s. Credit line: © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London Object: PAI8786 Artist: unknown Date: circa 1890 Medium: half-tone photo, relief Size: 189 mm x 134 mm Click here to buy a bespoke print of this image.