Clocks · Lantern clock
Balance-wheel brass lantern clock, with two driving weights and one counterweight, by Thomas Knifton, Cross Keys, Lothbury, London, England, 1645-1655.
- Maker / attribution
- Knifton, Thomas (maker); Thomas Knifton (maker)
- Date
- 1645-1655
- Historical period
- Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
- Country of origin
- England
- Place
- London, England, United Kingdom, London
- Object type
- Lantern clock
- Dimensions
- overall: 382 mm x 158 mm x 450 mm, 5.7kg
- Holding institution
- Science Museum Group, London
- Accession / object no.
- 1951-30
- Credit line
- Sotheby & Co.
- Catalogue title (original)
- House clock, balance-wheel brass lantern clock
Record summary
Held and catalogued by Science Museum Group, London (object number 1951-30), this is a lantern clock by Knifton, Thomas, made in London, England, United Kingdom, London, dated 1645-1655. The Atlas places it in the Early Modern Horology period (1600 – 1750) of its Clocks collection. Recorded dimensions: overall: 382 mm x 158 mm x 450 mm, 5.7kg. The record is illustrated with 4 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Science Museum Group description
The lantern or ‘birdcage’ clock was the earliest type of clock to be made in any numbers in England. This one, made in about 1650 by Thomas Knifton at the Cross Keys, Lothbury, London, has a verge escapement and still has the original wheel balance.
Historical context
Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
Huygens' pendulum and balance spring transform accuracy; English makers develop the anchor and deadbeat escapements.
Huygens's pendulum (1656–57) improved clock accuracy from about a quarter of an hour to under a minute a day. The anchor escapement (c. 1670) and the long seconds pendulum created the longcase clock; London makers such as Fromanteel, Knibb, Tompion and Quare led European clockmaking, and French makers created the Boulle pendule.
Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Renaissance Horology
Atlas type guide
Lantern, chamber and Gothic clocks
Domestic weight-driven clocks were made in southern Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Flanders from the fifteenth century. These 'Gothic' or chamber clocks have an open iron frame with corner posts, a verge escapement controlled by a foliot or balance wheel, and often an alarm or hour striking on a bell mounted above.
In England the lantern clock appeared around 1600: a brass posted-frame clock with a bell on top under decorative frets, hung on a hook or set on a wall bracket. After about 1658 many were converted to pendulum control, so originality of the escapement is a key question for any surviving example.
What to look for
- Iron (continental) or brass (English) posted frames with turned corner pillars and finials.
- A single hour hand — minute hands are rare before the pendulum era.
- Evidence of conversion: plugged holes, replaced escapement wheels or later pendulums.
- Fret designs and engraving on the dial centre, which help date English lantern clocks.
Dating clues
- Continental Gothic chamber clocks: c. 1450–1650.
- English lantern clocks: c. 1600–1720, with provincial examples later.
- Short 'bob' pendulum conversions after 1658; long pendulums with anchor escapement after c. 1670.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
Read next:FoliotAnchor (recoil) escapement
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