A COLLECTION of over 100 British clocks, watches and scientific instruments worth up to £15 million is due to be sold at a Winchester dealer.

It took Tom Scott, of Jersey and Guernsey, some 30 years to collect the pieces, several of which previously belonged to royalty or noblemen.

Carter Marsh and Co, in The Square, is now selling the collection on behalf of Mr Scott’s family and said it is attracting global attention.

Jonathan Carter, managing director, said: “It’s probably the most important and largest collection of British clocks to come on the market for 60-70 years, a good generation.

“We have had an extraordinary amount of interest, almost to a level where it’s quite difficult to keep up with it. The antique and art world at the moment is not particularly in fashion, but collecting still is. People have responded extraordinarily.”

Mr Carter said two of the clocks are expected to sell for around £4.5 million each and buyers from across America, Australia and Europe have expressed interest.

The collector wanted a book to be written about his hobby, which Carter Marsh and Co launched on Tuesday with a champagne reception.

Entitled ‘The Golden Age of Horology, Masterpieces from the Tom Scott Collection’, the book by Richard Garnier and Mr Carter details the history of the collection. The Scott Cumberland Clock, which has been restored, has a full chapter dedicated to it.

The collection is going to be exhibited by Carter Marsh and Co at Masterpiece in London, followed by two selling exhibitions in the Winchester showroom in July and November.