Deacons was founded by an ambitious 26 year old George Deacon in 1848 and is now a business in its 6th generation. The son of a Westbury farmer George was a trained clock and watchmaker and came to Swindon “to keep the trains on time”. Deacons became subcontractors to the Great Western and later main timekeepers for the Midland and South-West Junction Line. It is so exciting, with this historical link, to herald the time of a new fast track Moorcroft design from the age of steam, The Bristolian by Paul Hilditch. It would be Deacons watches that would be time keepers of this trains arrival and, record the iconic train’s incredibly fast transit times in the Age of Steam.
To celebrate the arrival of this Moorcroft locomotive design in Wiltshire's 'railway town,' Deacons are holding a launch party on Saturday 28th October, 11am – 3pm and our Collectors are all warmly invited to attend with cakes and tea all ready for you. Hayley Moore has been invited to this historic event to demonstrate the careful, and one ought to say, somewhat ironically, the hypnotic calmness of our floating technique, to show enthusiasts of this nostalgic period in time, the sheer skill of Moorcroft artistry. If that was not enough, limited edition watercolours of The Bristolian will be given away absolutely free with each purchase.
The Bristolian was the fastest express train from Paddington to Bristol introduced by Great Western in 1935 and captured in Paul’s design in the form it took in the final days of British steam. These B.R. coaches in crimson and cream were considered, in their time, to be the height of luxury, with Kings Class carriages. If you wish to make a weekend of Rail immersion, why not visit the Museum of the Great Western Railway, also known as Swindon Steam Railway Museum, housed in part of the former railway works in Swindon after the event itself?
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The Museum captures the social story of the railway community in Swindon, with recorded personal experiences and film archives. Lifelike exhibits show people at work and human interactions. There are exhibits explaining the construction of locomotives, of railway equipment and of the railways themselves. It also tells the history of the Great Western Railway and the life of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the famous Victorian engineer, who masterminded the construction of the original Great Western Railway. If that is not enough – why not hop on a train to Bristol and visit Brunel’s SS Great Britain, and ramble over the Clifton Suspension Bridge. Bristol has a wealth of Museums from the grand Bristol Museum and Art Gallery to walking tours from Blackbeard to Banksy - below is an image of our very own artist and designer, Paul Hilditch.
The Bristolian for Deacons comes in a 3/8 vase and plaque. Through sheer design acumen, Paul enables you to experience a sense of nostalgia from the golden age of travel as you travel through Britain's stunning countryside as the GWR express locomotive, The Bristolian, housed in the Swindon Museum against a reconstructed 1930’s platform, sweeps over Swindon itself on Brunel’s viaducts and through his tunnels before appearing directly in-front of you as it emerges from the other side. Under immense steam pressure, with pistons blowing and wheels screeching, the excitement of the age of steam is championed in the Applied Arts.
