Weight-driven wall clock with alarm and hour striking

Description — British Museum

Weight-driven wall clock with alarm and hour striking. Brass wall lantern clock; verge escapement with balance; weight-driven; alarum mechanism mounted on the exterior of the back-plate; striking-train (hours only). Train-counts: Going train Great wheel 56 Second wheel 54 pinion 7 Crown wheel 19 pinion 6 Extended gt wheel arbor with pinion of 4 driving hour-wheel of 48. Striking train Great wheel. 56 With 8 pins. Pinion of report of 4 drives count wheel of 39. Hoop wheel 56 pinion 7 Warning wheel 54 pinion 6 Fly 6 Alarm. Crown wheel. 17.

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The following text is the entry for this object from the unpublished catalogue of pre-pendulum clocks by John Leopold, former Assistant Keeper of Horology at the Museum.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 WILLIAM BOWYER. London,… ca.1630. Ilbert No. 333 Q: ex Clowes, May 1943: ex Drummond Robertson and Iden. Bibliography. Britten 3 (1911) 458, 460 (J.Drummond Robertson) Britten 4 (1919) 205, 207. Britten 5 (1922) 477, 479. Drummond Robertson (1931) 135. Britten 6 (1932) 521, 523 (dito) Cescinsky (1938) 23 (no owner but thanks Iden in preface). Exhib.cat. Birmingham 1953-4 No.4. Britten 7 (1956) 25. Exhib.cat. London 1958 No.17. Cat.Ilbert (1958) No.31. Dawson etc. (1958) 162-163 (ex Drummond Robertson). Gardner (1958) 197. Tait (1968) 28-9, pl.20-21. Blakemore (1969) 155 Britten 8 (1972) 25. Abeler (1975) 57. Britten 3 2 (1977) 344. Jagger (1977) 101. Pearson (1979) 18. Smith (1979) 249. Britten 9 (1982) 26. Dawson etc. (1982) 59, 62, 67. Hutchinson (1983) no.43. Tait (1983) 19, front cover. Cat. Iden (1987) 200-201. White (1989) 67, 86, 101 (fig.126), 500 ff. Hooper (1998) 124 (considers this one of the early Bowyers). Also: P.Macquoid & R.Edwards, The Dictionary of English Furniture II 100. Compare HJ July 1924 p.218: Bowyer clock in Webster coll. Analysis of hoop wheel, countwheel and "Back Strike Plate": White (1989) 500 ff. Signature: Engraved at the bottom of the dial plate: "William * Bowyer * fecit". Engraved at the foot of the left-rear pillar (rear side), engraved "VII" (across the base of the pillar, the edge of the plate and the top of the foot) 1). Scratched on the back of the dial plate: "William White May 21(?) 1811". Scratched on the inside of the left door: "Tims Decmber 4 1844". Scratched on the dial side of the front bar: "T Bowles 1862". Description: Case and dial. Lantern clock, consisting of a posted frame movement to which have been fitted four vertical panels, three frets and a bellstrap with bell: these parts together constitute the case, constructed largely of brass. The front vertical panel is secured at the bottom by two lugs on the panel, which fit into holes in the bottom plate of the movement, and at the top by two pins in the top plate. The panel is engraved at the corners with flowers, at the centre with a ring of flowers, tendrils and strapwork, and at the bottom with the signature. The silvered chapterring, pinned by four feet, is marked I - XII with small stars as half-hour marks. In the middle of the dial is the silvered alrm disc, engraved I - XII with small stars as half-hour marks around a six-petalled rose. On the chapter ring the heavy strokes of the figures X in X, XI and XII are reversed (IX is conventional). On the alarm disc the X's in IX, X and XI are reversed. There is a steel hour hand. Back panel of brass, with the alarm mechanism attached. There are no traces of spurs on the plate, which is probably a replacement. There are plain brass doors, hinged between the movement plates. The hinge pins at the top of both doors have been repaired, that on the right hand in steel. The latches inside the doors are of steel. The doors are replacements. Three frets, pierced in the traditional strapwork design, are screwed (two screws each) to the top plate of the movement. The side frets are plain, but the front one is engraved, and its back has bits of trial engraving. The cast bell strap is sprung by steel pins into the top finials of the movement. The bell is attached by a steel screw which is secured by the top finial. This finial is similar to the corner ones, with a cylindrical base ("cotton reel", see Commentary). Movement. Posted frame movement, constructed largely of brass. Two rectangular plates connected at the corners by turned pillars, which are screwed at top and bottom by turned finilas and feet. The steel suspension hoop is riveted to the top of the top plate (two steel rivets). All wheels have four crossings except the dial-wheel, which is solid. All pivot holes have been rebushed. Going train. Train count: 4 ║ 56 54 ── ║ ── ── 19 (x 2) 12-hour ← 48 ║ 7 6 Great wheel: cordwheel with a brass and a steel disc; steel face click mounted on the steel disc, acting on the crossings of the wheel. The pinion-of-report is squared on the end of the arbor, and is original. Escapement: brass wheel balance and brass cock. Dial wheel: brass wheel mounted on the arbor with a steel spring-disc; the arbour carries the brass starwheel for unlocking the striking. On the arbor rides the brass unlocking piece of the alarm, being held against the wheel by a steel spring washer. Striking train. Traincount: 4 ║ 56 54 54 ── ║ ── ── ── 12-hour ← 39 ║ 7 6 6 Great wheel: 8 lifting pins. Cordwheel with one brass disc and a steel one, the steel disc with a steel face-click acting on the crossings of the wheel. 2nd wheel: single brass hoop, riveted to the band of the wheel. 3rd wheel: one steel pin for warning. Heavy brass fly. Countwheel: steel disc with brass wheel. Steel detends. Warned striking, with locking and indexing on the 2nd wheel and warning on the 3rd. Alarm. The alarm assembly is mounted on the back plate; there is a steel stirrup around the verge to hold the wheel. Traincount: 17 (x 2) Scapewheel: brass cord wheel with face-click acting on the crossings of the wheel. The cordwheel has two brass discs. The inside of the outer one has remains of engraving for a lunar volvelle (re-used brass). Steel detend, pivoted in holes in the dial plate and in the back plate. Wheel and verge, and probably also the detend, are replacements. Conversions: Although White (1989) 105 states that no undisputably original escapements survive in lantern clocks of this period. This is undoubtedly true as far as the actual verge is concerned, but otherwise there is a large consensus that a few clocks remain very largely untouched. Indeed the present clock has long been held.