Around this time Bristol was one of the most important centres for clock making outside London. This was in part due to the strong brass founding industry which had developed in response to a healthy export demand and the abundant supply 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.