This row of solid mid-19th century artisans' houses stands on Norfolk Street in Spon End, immediately to the west of the centre of Coventry. They resemble the watchmakers' houses of Chapelfields, further to the west, and in fact no. 16 has a blue plaque outside (just visible on the wall behind the lamppost behind the third car from the right). It reads:
Watchmaking Heritage Trail 2000
16 Norfolk Street
Residence and Workshop of
Bahne Bonniksen
Watch Manufacturer
Inventor of the Karrusel Movement
for Watches and Chronometers
1894
Commissioned by
Coventry Watch Museum Project
It can be seen at the Open Plaques site
Link .
Bonniksen was born at Bov in Slesvig (Schleswig) in 1859. After lecturing in horology for several years at the Coventry Technical Institute he set up his own workshop behind his house in 1892. There he employed twenty workers, making watch components and assembling them. The Karrusel movement, which he developed there, enabled watches to be held horizontally or handled more roughly without affecting their timekeeping and was also used for ships' chronometers.
In later life Bonniksen designed speedometers for the motor industry. He was also a member of the Royal Astronomical Society; the Astronomy & Astrophysics Group at Warwick University has a short article on him here
Link . It cites a Coventry Evening Telegraph article by Keith Draper dated 2nd December 2000 which can be seen here
Link .