A COUPLE who have been customers of a Swindon jewellers for four decades were presented with a bespoke carriage clock and painting.

Jane and Alan Archer were delighted to pick up a carriage clock, a case and a painting of their four-year-old racehorse Freddie at Deacons in Wood Street on Saturday.

Freddie is trained in Lambourn by Seamus Durack, although a minor injury and the pandemic have hampered his progress recently.

The clock features a design based on the Archers' racing colours and the side panels are smaller versions of of the painting of Freddie, set in navy blue ovals.

It is hand made by the English Carriage Clock Company, based in Bridport, Dorset.

Deacons – which has been in the town for 172 years – hopes this is the first of many it will make and sell.

Jane said: “We really enjoyed the day, it was so delightful to see the finished pieces.

“The image of the head was done perfectly, it looks exactly like Freddie.

“The idea came after we all met up at a Rolex evening last year, it’s fantastic to finally have the pieces in our hands.

"We are still trying to decide on the perfect spot for them in our home.”

The painting is by David Galbraith, a Devizes fine artist from Devizes who works with Richard Deacon on similar projects.

David said: “It was wonderful to get to hand over the painting to the Archers because I’ve worked on it for so long.

“I met Alan and Jane last year and we were all chatting and that’s where it all began.

“So it was brilliant to finally gift them the painting and clock over the weekend. Working on this project has been wonderful and when I gave it to them they were just delighted.”

Carriage clocks were developed in early 19th century France by world-famous watch and clockmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet for the Emperor Napoleon in 1812.

They were designed to be transported by their owners in a horse-drawn carriage, while away from home and they were traditionally supplied in a leather carry case for protection.

Deacons has a history of making carriage clocks, particularly in the 1960s and 70s when Michael Deacon was running the business.

They were sold in the UK through Deacons and the USA through Cartier in New York and Neun and Marcus in Dallas.