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Lantern clock by Richard Rayment, Bury St. Edmunds, c. 1750 — view 1 of 2
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Clocks · Lantern clock

Lantern clock by Richard Rayment, Bury St. Edmunds, c. 1750

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Richard Rayment (maker)
Date
c. 1750
Historical period
Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
Country of origin
Unrecorded in source
Place
Bury St. Edmunds
Object type
Lantern clock
Dimensions
Height 32 cm
Dealer
Howard Walwyn Fine Antique Clocks (dealer), London
Stock no.
SKU 344
Credit line
Dealer listing, Howard Walwyn (SKU 344)
Catalogue title (original)
RICHARD RAYMENT. A good provincial lantern clock by this well-known Suffolk maker (English)

View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction

Record summary

Catalogued by Howard Walwyn Fine Antique Clocks (dealer), London (stock number SKU 344), this is a lantern clock by Richard Rayment, made in Bury St. Edmunds, dated c. 1750. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Recorded dimensions: Height 32 cm. The record is illustrated with 2 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 provincial lantern clock by this well-known Suffolk maker, the short duration weight-driven movement with original anchor escapement, long pendulum and hour-strike on a bell. The clock is in a lovely untouched state. Height : 12 ½ in (32 cm) excluding finial Height : 15 in (38 cm) including finial Width : 6 ½ in (17 cm) Max Depth : 7 ¼ in (21 cm) including spurs . * The Rayments were a very well known family of Suffolk clockmakers. Richard Rayment was born in 1686 and worked in Bury St Edmunds from the early 1700’s until his death in 1754. He is the most highly regarded member of the Rayment dynasty. HW5993

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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