Clocks · Lantern clock
Lantern Clock - Peter Closon, London, c. 1640
- Maker / attribution
- Mr Peter Closon (Maker)
- Date
- c. 1640
- Historical period
- Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
- Country of origin
- England
- Place
- London, England, Great Britain
- Object type
- Lantern clock
- Dimensions
- 15 cm (Length), 15 cm (Width), 40 cm (Height)
- Holding institution
- Museums Victoria, Melbourne
- Accession / object no.
- ST 20137
- Catalogue title (original)
- Lantern Clock - Peter Closon, London, circa 1640 (English)
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Record summary
Held and catalogued by Museums Victoria, Melbourne (object number ST 20137), this is a lantern clock by Mr Peter Closon, made in London, England, Great Britain, dated c. 1640. The Atlas places it in the Early Modern Horology period (1600 – 1750) of its Clocks collection. Recorded dimensions: 15 cm (Length), 15 cm (Width), 40 cm (Height). The record is illustrated with 6 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
Summary — Museums Victoria
Brass lantern clock, Peter Closon, Holborn Bridge, London, circa 1640. Lantern clock fitted into wooden bracket. Four brass corner posts connect top and bottom brass plates. Dial has roman numerals and one hand for hours only.
Inscriptions & marks
Fret is marked 'Peter Closon Nerhoborne Bridge Fecit'.
Provenance
Loan & Subsequent Bequest from Mr John Askew, 03 Feb 1937
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.
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