Tavistock and District Historical Society Acquires Monumental and Rare John K. Lemp Clock

John K. Lemp was a skilled woodworker and master mechanic from Tavistock who, during his lifetime, designed and built five large grandfather clocks for members of his family. As his family moved, so did his clocks, so that residents of Tavistock have been deprived of seeing the handiwork of one of its most notable residents…until now!

When members of the Tavistock and District Historical Society (TDHS) learned that one of the Lemp grandfather clocks was coming up for auction, they felt that it should come back to Tavistock. Though the museum is small and the clock is almost 8 feet tall, they would make room for it. A piece of craftsmanship like this clock deserves to be on display for all to see.
The Historical Society was successful with their bid at the auction and will have the clock in place and running by the time of their Annual Meeting in April of 2025.

John K. Lemp was born in Waterloo County in 1860 and his early years were spent on a farm on the 13th line of East Zorra. In 1881, he married Mary Leonard of Elma Township (1858-1938) at Trinity Lutheran Church, Sebastopol, where they attended as life-long members. From an early age he exhibited exceptional skill as a woodworker and he opened a shop on Woodstock St N in 1886, particularly for the sale and filing of saws.

One of his early jobs was to keep the large Hess Clock in the Trinity Church steeple in running order and it is believed that the workings of that clock inspired him. By the age of 30 he had built his first grandfather clock after working on it for 4 years. By the age of 70 he had built four more clocks, the last one with the help of his nephew Ernest Piehl. He passed away in 1938 in his 78th year.
The Lemp clocks were originally made as gifts to members of his family but with time they have passed to other owners. One of his clocks recorded the days, hours and minutes in the local Carnegie Library where it was on loan for many years. Another of the clocks is in the Canadian Museum of History in Hull, Quebec.

The grandfather clock which TDHS acquired was built by John K. Lemp for his nephew W. J. Leonard. It is 7’11” in height, 35” wide and 17” deep (241 cm x 89 cm x 43cm). It has a mahogany case, inlaid and embellished with carved rosettes and has two large dials (clock and date) stacked vertically over a glass door showing the pendulum.

On the back of the clock is a hand-written note reading, “Machinist J. K. Lemp (Uncle Lemp), Tavistock, Ont. Maker of the Clock 1931. Clock Mahogany presented J. Leonard, 29 Jessie Street, nephew 1931.” Family lore has it that Mr. Lemp travelled to 29 Jessie Street in Brockville in about 1929 to measure the height of the ceiling in the home of William Leonard and then returned on June 8, 1931 to deliver the finished clock. On the death of Mr. Leonard the clock passed to his daughter then on to other owners.

Photos of most of the Lemp Clocks and of the Lemp family can be found by searching in the “Lemp Studio” section of this website. Further details about the clocks can be found in the article by Sherrill Calder in the Yesterday Vol. 32, Spring 2018 issue found under the “Newsletter” tab. And there is a description of the Lemp Clock that is currently in the Canadian Museum of History in the “Features” section. In the photo that accompanies this article, TDHS members Paul Bartlett, Donna Dickson and Bob Rudy stand proudly with their new acquisition.