Cromwell's pocket watch now on display at Huntingdon museum

The watch, made by London watchmaker William Clay in the 1640s, is of a plain 'Puritan' style in a silver case.

It is believed to have been gifted by Cromwell to his officer, John Blackwell, in 1650.

The timepiece is set to be on display until November 10, but the museum has launched an appeal to raise funds to purchase the watch and make it a permanent feature.

The Cromwell Museum in has a small pocket watch which is believed to have belonged to Oliver Cromwell (Image: Submitted)

Stuart Orme, curator of the Cromwell Museum, said: “This is one of only two watches that can reasonably be provenanced to have belonged to Oliver Cromwell; the other is in the British Museum.

"It’s an astonishingly small and beautiful item, a fine example of the 17th Century watchmaker’s art, and we hope to give it a permanent and appropriate home here in Huntingdon – and hope people feel able to support us in that.”

The watch, which indicates the date as well as the time, was passed down through Blackwell's descendants until sold by the family in 2019 to the current owner.

Blackwell, Cromwell’s military treasurer, worked for Cromwell during the Republic, then emigrated to America after the Restoration, where he was appointed by William Penn as governor of Pennsylvania.

Cromwell's pocket watch on display at Huntingdon museum (Image: Submitted)

He returned to England by 1694 and died in London in 1701.

Cromwell's watch is on display until November 10 during normal museum opening hours, Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm.

Admission is free of charge, although donations are encouraged.

For more details on this and the museum’s upcoming programmes visit: cromwellmuseum.org.

If you would like to donate to support the appeal to help enable the Museum to purchase Cromwell’s watch, you can do so online at: justgiving.com/campaign/cromwellwatch.