Lantern clock by John Pennocke

Description — British Museum

Lantern clock Weight-driven, wall mounted lantern clock. Formerly with verge escapement and balance. Now with anchor escapement and long pendulum; count-wheel striking; alarm mechanism missing and setting dial now missing. The spider, bell and top finial are all laer replacements.

Curator's comments — British Museum

The following text is the entry for this object from the unpublished catalogue of pre-pendulum clocks by John Leopold, former Assistant Keeper of Horology at the Museum. This information is unedited and should be used accordingly. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx LANTERN CLOCK, BY JOHN PENNOCKE,… LONDON. Ca.1640. Bibliography. Baillie 1 (1929) 280. Baillie 2 (1947) 247. Dawson etc. (1982) 62-3. White (1989) 32, 54, 122, 500 ff. Analysis of some parts: White (1989) 500 ff. Signature: Signed at the bottom of the front fret: "John Pennocke at Lond. Within Bishopsgate fecit". Description: Casing and dial. Brass lantern clock. The doors and the back plate missing (the movement plates have holes for the doors, and two holes each for the back plate). Frets pierced in a patern of strapwork; the front one additionally engraved. Bellstrap secured by pin into the finials; bell held by a nut to the finial. None of these parts are original; the bell strap is built up out of five parts brazed together, and the bell is too shallow to be reached properly by the hammer. Dialplate secured by two extensions at the bottom and by two pins at the top. It is engraved inside the chapterring with a floral patern; the centre, which originally was covered by the alarm disc, was left open. There are simple ornaments at the corners. The chapterring is pinned to the plate by four feet; it is divided I - XII with cross-shaped half-hour marks and has a quarter division along the inside. The the alarm setting disc at the centre of the dial is missing. Steel hand with traces of blueing (the blueing probably 19th century). Movement. Posted frame movement constructed almost entirely of brass. Two square plates seperated, at the corners, by four pillars with decorative bases and capitals, and with ornametal rings near top and bottom. The pillars are secured by screwed finials and feet. The top plate has holes for the original suspension loop; there are no spurs. The bottom plate has four large holes which may have accomodated screws to secure the clock to a bracket; these holes are probably 19th century. The trains are held by three bars; front and back are of the characteristic cross shape. All wheels have four crossings, except the (later) scape wheel which is solid. Going train. Traincount: 4 ║ 56 54 ── ║ ── ── 27 (x 2) 12-hour ← 48 ║ 7 6 Great wheel: cordwheel consisting of one steel disc (near the wheel) and a brass one; it is secured by a spring washer. Integral steel spring and click, acting on the crossings of the wheel. The pinion of report is a lantern cut into the end of the arbor. Scape wheel: wheel later (one tooth repaired), arbor and pinion original. Balance, potence, verge and cock replaced by an anchor replacement. The middle bar has two square holes for the original potence and the stirrup for the scape wheel appears to be original; the top plate has holes for the cock. The crutch of the anchor escapement broken off. Pendulum missing. Dial wheel: sandwiched between the starwheel and an iron slotted spring; on this arbor rides the steel unlocking piece which used to carry the setting disk. Striking train. Traincount: 4 ║ 56 54 54 ── ║ ── ── ── 12-hour ← 39 ║ 7 6 6 Great wheel: 8 lifting pins. Cordwheel and click similar to that of the going train, but secured by a pin (there is no groove for a sprung washer). Pinion-of-report is a lantern filed in the end of the arbor. Second wheel: single brass hoop. Third wheel: single steel pin for warning. Heavy brass fly. Steel detends. The unlocking arm is a replacement: it is too thin to be tight under the securing pin. Warned striking, with locking on the hoop and warning on the third wheel. Alarm train. This portion is almost entirely missing, only the release-piece on the arbor of the dial wheel remaining. Further traces of its original existance are the hole for the detend in the top left hand corner of the dial plate, and the open centre in the engraving of the dial plate. The actual alarm will have been mounted on the back plate, which is missing. Conversions: The clock has been converted to pendulum (length ca.88 cm). This conversion included making a new scape wheel, which was mounted on the original arbor. The length of the pendulum is curious: with a scape wheel of 25 the clock could have been made to beat seconds. The suspension-loop was discarded to make space for the back cock of the pendulum-suspension. The clock has not been re-converted, but it was severly over-cleaned in the 19th century, many parts being scraped to the point where they have almost entirely lost the original surface. This accounts for the curious appearance of the engraving of the dial plate: after scraping the now very shallow engraving was filled with black wax. It also appears to be the reason why one screw of the right hand fret is missing: when the top plate was scraped the nut for the hammer-stop had to be further tightened so that it got in the way of the screw. Performance: Going train: greatwheel - 1 rev. per hour. escapement - 3888 beats per hour (pendulum ca. 88 cm). Striking train: great wheel - 19½ revs. in 24 hours. Measurements: Height (over all) - 406 mm. Top plate: width - 146 mm, depth - 147 mm. Bottom plate: width - 147 mm, depth - 148 mm. Distance between the plates - 163 mm. Distance between the bars: going - 52 mm, striking - 47 mm. History and provenance: Octavius Morgan collection; it is not known when or where Morgan acquired the cloc. Octavius Morgan bequest; reg.1888,12-1,148. Commentary: John Pennock, who was an aprentice of William Kidson in York, became a brother of the London Clockmakers Company in 1638; however he is recorded in Bishopsgate, London, as early as 1630. He is last mentioned in 1642 (White [1989] 121-2). White classifies this as a first period clock, of which it is a late, fully developed example. Looked under the chapterring: it is cast, there is no casters mark, and there is a XII scratched at 12 o'clock. xxxxx