of the raw materials – copper and zinc – in the west. In the late 17th century the clock making industry thrived in the Chew Valley of Somerset thanks to Thomas Veale, Edward Webb and Edward Bilbie, whose clock making was conducted alongside their bell-founding work. Such a concentrated effort resulted in a distinctive local style of lantern clock. Their clocks date from 1724 and are highly prized. They produced mostly longcase clocks, the cheapest with 30-hour movements in modest oak cases, but they also made high quality eight-day movements with additional features such as indicating the high tide at Bristol docks. These were fitted into quality cabinet maker cases that now command the highest prices. Family members Several generations of the family were involved in the business. Edward Bilbie I (1666–1724) It is not known how Edward Bilbie learnt to cast bells, but it is clear that he cast his first bell in 1698 for St Andrew's Church in Chew Stoke. In the period from 1698 to 1723, Edward was responsible for the casting of 67 bells for churches all over Somerset. Edward Bilbie II (1694–1726) The eldest son of Edward I learnt bell making from his father, but died only a few months after him and never had the chance to produce his own work. Thomas Bilbie (1702–1778) Edward I's younger son Thomas took over the bell and clock making businesses in 1725, completing contracts already agreed, and traveling further for new ones. One of his largest commissions was for the "Great Bell" at Yeovil which was recast from to . In 1742 he gained a contract to cast bells for the church at Cullompton, Devon. In 1746 he set up a bell making foundry there known as the "West of England Church Bellfoundry" so that he could expand the business south and west of Somerset, and reduce the transportation problems from the original foundry. Between 1725 and 1768 he was responsible for 350 bells in churches in Somerset, Devon, Bristol, Dorset and Gloucestershire, with one in Caernarfon in Wales. Edward Bilbie 1716 – 1786 Edward Bilbie continued the family bell founding tradition, making several bells, including one for the Church of St Peter in Catcott, Somerset. Thomas Bilbie II of Cullompton (1727–1780) Following his father Thomas's creation of the second foundry in Cullompton, Thomas II or Thomas Bilbie Junior cast bells for most of the churches in