Of all the clock dials that I've restored over the years,this is the first paddle
steam ship that I've seen on a moon dial.It got me intrigued, a one chimney and masted ship.
It could be of the first paddle steamer to cross the Atlantic . The SS.Sirius ( built 1887), arrived eight hours before Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Great Western. The Sirius was smaller, and only had two masts, so could have been celebrated in this painted dial. I've reversed a painting of Sirius to compare it with the dial. The painting is in The Merseyside Maritime Museum...so a little link to Liverpool.
There was a Liverpool & North Wales Steamship Company but their three ships all had two funnels.
The clock was made by Thomas Howard (1822-),originally a teacher from Bury in Lancashire. This dial is marked with his workshop address 157 Kirkdale Road, Liverpool.
Kirkdale was a village on the main route between Liverpool and Walton,so was popular for shops and trades.Looking at Google maps it looks like most of the buildings are gone with only a few old buildings in surrounding streets. Apparently in 1699, J.A.Picton recorded that Liverpool should be made a separate parish away from Walton because parishoners were too distracted on their way to church by a public house in Kirkdale.I wonder if the clock maker Thomas Howard was a regular?
https://historic-liverpool.co.uk/
https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/stories/sirius-adventure
http://home.clara.net/ronsmith/howard/thomasw.htm