Blue Plaques 13 - 9 Market Place
9 Market Place is the site of one of two premises used by Thomas Humphreys, clock-maker, made famous by Charles Dickens in “Master Humphrey’s Clock.”
Charles Dickens used the name (minus the final ’s’) of Thomas Humphreys (1787-1868) clock-maker of Barnard Castle in “Master Humphrey’s Clock”. It was not a novel in itself, but a story in the course of which Dickens could introduce novels to his readers. “The Old Curiosity Shop” and “Barnaby Rudge” were first published in this way. This was the site of a shop to which Humphreys moved four years after Dickens’ visit. (See plaque 16)
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