Metamec

About Metamec

In 1947 a small factory in East Dereham, Norfolk, started making clocks under the name Metamec.

The Metamec factory was an offshoot of Jenkins Productions which made furniture and had gained a contract with the Ministry of Defence to make ammunition boxes.  Huge amounts of timber, brass and steel were used in the production of these boxes but when the end of the war came the contract was revoked and so Jenkins Productions which had now been renamed 'Jentique', found itself with lots of timber offcuts and brass surplus to its normal needs. Captain Bernard A. Smart decided to make clocks using some of these surplus materials. Within a few years, the factory was turning out 25,000 clocks a week and became the largest manufacturer of clocks in the UK.

The factory at Dereham had as many as 700 employees, making 350 different models of clocks, during the 1950's and early 60's. A huge variety of wall clocks, mantel clocks, carriage clocks, alarm clocks and grandfather clocks were made, powered by several different means: electricity, wind-up, batteries (both D size and AA). In the early days, many of the movements were bought in from other makers in Germany, France and Scotland and even by British competitor Smiths Clocks. Later, quartz movements were used.