Clocks · Lantern clock
Lantern clock by George Clarke, Whitechappel Fecit London, c. 1760
- Maker / attribution
- George Clarke (maker)
- Date
- c. 1760
- Historical period
- Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
- Country of origin
- England
- Place
- Whitechappel Fecit London
- Object type
- Lantern clock
- Dimensions
- Height 38 cm
- Stock no.
- SKU 61
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Howard Walwyn (SKU 61)
- Catalogue title (original)
- GEORGE CLARKE. A GOOD 18TH CENTURY LONDON THIRD PERIOD LANTERN CLOCK (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Howard Walwyn Fine Antique Clocks (dealer), London (stock number SKU 61), this is a lantern clock by George Clarke, made in Whitechappel Fecit London, England, dated c. 1760. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Recorded dimensions: Height 38 cm. The record is illustrated with 3 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
Dealer description — Howard Walwyn
A good 18th century London Third period lantern clock, the 24 hour duration movement with original anchor escapement and long pendulum. It retains its original outside countwheel hour strike on a single bell and the well patinated brass case has turned pillars and entwined dolphin frets. The attractive dial is engraved with interlacing foliage and the maker’s name is engraved below XII. The finely cut single steel hand is probably original and the side doors and hanging hoop are also old. Height: 15 in (38 cm) incl. finial *George Clarke is listed on page 154 of ‘Clockmakers of the World: 21st Century Edition’ by Brian Loomes as working in Whitechappel in the third quarter of the 18th century It is increasingly hard to find good 18th century lantern clocks in such an original state. HW5409 Signed / Inscribed George Clarke Whitechappel Fecit
Historical context
Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
Harrison solves longitude; Mudge invents the lever; Breguet's Paris workshop defines the modern watch.
The age of the deadbeat escapement, compensated pendulums and observatory regulators. Domestic clocks spread through the middle classes: English longcase and bracket clocks, French gilt-bronze mantel clocks, Viennese Biedermeier wall clocks, Black Forest painted-shield clocks, and the first American shelf clocks.
Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Early Modern 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:FoliotVerge escapement
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