Early Clocks | Lee Borrett
George Newton
At Seend
"An ingenious man"
Four hundred years ago, in 1625, George Newton of Seend became the village blacksmith following the death of his father, Richard Newton, who left George his forge. Intriguingly, Richard also bequeathed his son a clock. It is tempting to wonder whether this inherited clock helped stimulate George’s interest in horology and perhaps even provided a model from which he began experimenting with clockmaking himself. Although no documentary evidence has yet been found to prove this, George appears to have been making lantern clocks at Seend by the mid-1630s and may also have executed much of the wonderfully individual engraving found on his earliest surviving examples. That he possessed considerable practical ability is beyond doubt. When the antiquary John Aubrey visited Seend in 1666 he described Newton as “an ingeniose man, who from a blacksmith turned clockmaker to fiddlemaker”, and recorded Newton discussing his experiments with local iron ore. The remarkable pre-Civil War lantern clock illustrated here was probably made by George Newton at Seend between about 1636 and 1638. Its maker, construction and fascinating historical setting form the subject of this article.
The Clock
Above. Showing a wonderfully interesting pre-civil war lantern clock made by George Newton of Seend between around 1636-1638. Private collection, Photographed by Lee Borrett
The clock retains George Newton's original long arrowhead iron hand and stands just over an impressive 17 inches in overall height, which is larger than a standard size lantern clock of 15.5 inches. It has a wonderfully charming dial and fret design with engraved heraldic symbols and flowers that represent countries, including the Tudor Rose (England), Thistle (Scotland), Shamrock (Ireland) and Fleur-de-lis (France). George Newton has made the brass and iron movement of massive proportions with heavy-duty brass movement castings, including the pillars, plates and crucifix bars which are incredibly over 6 mm thick in some areas.
Above. Showing a close-up of the wonderfully charming dial centre. The long arrowhead iron hand is original. Private collection, Photographed by Lee Borrett
Below. Showing the fret design with engraved heraldic symbols and flowers. Signed ‘GEORGE NEWNTEN AT SEENE ‘ Private collection, Photographed by Lee Borrett
Below. Showing a side view of the George Newton heavily-built brass and iron lantern movement with rounded pillars. Private collection, Photographed by Lee Borrett
Below. A close-up of George Newtons movement showing the massive brass plates and crucifix bars which are incredibly over 6 mm thick in some areas. Private collection, Photographed by Lee Borrett
Below. Showing a close-up view of from the other side of the massive brass and iron lantern movement Private collection, Photographed by Lee Borrett
The clock retains an early, probably late seventeenth-century, conversion from its original balance-wheel control to anchor escapement and long-pendulum regulation. During this conversion the alarm work was removed. Such alterations are entirely understandable on a clock of this age and form part of its natural working history. Particularly interesting is the survival and reuse of the original upper cock, which once carried the top pivot of the vertical verge arbor. Rather than being discarded, it was cut at the upper part of its crank, adapted to carry the split backcock for the long-pendulum suspension and replanted at the centre rear of the top plate. Remarkably, the original screw and steady-pin positions survive, allowing its former location to be identified precisely. Apart from this historic conversion and associated alterations, the clock survives to an exceptional degree of originality after almost four centuries.
Above. A view of the top plate. The upper cock which once carried the top pivot of the vertical verge arbour (for the original balance-wheel escapement) was not thrown away but was used in the conversion to anchor. It was cut at the top of its upward crank, the split backcock piece for the long-pendulum suspension was rivetted to it, and it was replanted at the centre back of the top plate. This is visible in the above image, and the cock can be removed from its present, and replanted in its original position, where the same screw and steady-pins fit precise. Private collection, Photographed by Lee Borrett
Below. Showing a rear view of the massive George Newton movement with the side doors removed. Note the iron count-wheel. Miraculously, after almost 400 years, this clock is virtually as it was when George Newton made it, apart from the customary conversion from balance to long pendulum. Private collection, Photographed by Lee Borrett
When John Aubrey visited George Newton at his forge in 1666 and described him as “an ingeniose man”, he was already an important antiquary with a growing reputation for recording ancient monuments and unusual people. Aubrey had studied Avebury and, in 1663, accompanied Charles II to see the remarkable prehistoric remains there. What I find especially fascinating is that his account of the Seend visit preserves not only a description of George Newton, but also something Newton himself told him about experiments with local iron ore: “and he assured me that he has melted of this oare in his forge, which the oare of the Forest of Deane &c. will not doe”. For a seventeenth-century provincial clockmaker, the survival of such a contemporary personal account is exceptionally rare.
Historical Context
Above. Showing the location of George Newton's premises as it appears today. The small building to the front left is believed to have housed George Newton's forge where John Aubrey visited in 1666. The large house is thought to have been built by Newton's son. Image courtesy of the Antiquarian Horology Society (AHS).
The Fire of London, 1666
Not only is it exceptionally rare to preserve an actual quotation associated with a seventeenth-century provincial clockmaker, but Aubrey’s visit took place in one of the most memorable years in English history. In September 1666 the Great Fire of London devastated much of the old City, only a year after London had suffered the terrible Great Plague of 1665. The two disasters have often been linked in popular history, although modern scholarship no longer regards the Great Fire as the cause of the plague’s disappearance. Nevertheless, plague and fire made 1665–1666 two of the most traumatic years of seventeenth-century England.
The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Thursday 6 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall, while also extending past the wall to the west. The fire started in a bakery, near Pudding Lane on the night of 2nd September, 1666. The bakery was owned by Thomas Farriner. A spark from one of his ovens probably started the fire. The Great Fire of London scorched four fifths of the city in 1666, destroying over 13,500 houses, 87 parish churches and leaving around 100,000 people homeless. The scale of the destruction means it’s been remembered ever since.
Above. The Great Fire of London, depicted by an unknown painter (1675), as it would have appeared from a boat in the vicinity of Tower Wharf on the evening of Tuesday, 4 September 1666. To the left is London Bridge; to the right, the Tower of London. Old St Paul's Cathedral is in the distance, surrounded by the tallest flames. Museum of London, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
The Great Plague, 1665
The Great Plague, also known as the bubonic plague started in the spring and summer of 1665 which spread from parish to parish until thousands had died and the huge pits dug to receive the bodies were full. The outbreak in London was particularly bad. 68,596 deaths were recorded in the city, though the true figure is likely to be over 100,000, as not all of the deaths were recorded. The epidemic declined substantially during the winter of 1665–66. Although the Great Fire followed in September 1666, it is no longer generally accepted that the fire itself brought the plague to an end.
Above. PLAGUE OF LONDON, 1665 to 1666. Rita Greer, FAL, via Wikimedia Commons. In 1665, the plague returned to England. The image shows a scene of horror. After sunset carts were driven through the streets to collect the dead. They were taken to the nearest graveyard to be buried in plague pits. Fires burned to make smoke. Pipes of tobacco were smoked, posies of herbs worn and faces covered with masks. This was thought to be protection against contagion. London was overwhelmed with fear, terror and grief. Greer, FAL, via Wikimedia Commons.
John Aubrey
John Aubrey was born 12th March 1626 and was educated at Trinity College, Oxford. He is perhaps best known as the author of the Brief Lives, his collection of short biographical pieces. He was a pioneer archaeologist, who recorded (often for the first time) numerous megalithic and other field monuments in southern England, and is particularly noted for his systematic examination of the Avebury henge monument. The Aubrey holes at Stonehenge are named after him. His close friends included Robert Hooke and Christopher Wren and he rubbed shoulders with Robert Boyle, Edmond Halley, John Locke, and Isaac Newton. He showed King Charles II around the megalithic remains at Avebury in 1663. He died 7th June 1697. (Wikipedia)
Above. John Aubrey (b1626 – d1697). The famous diarist John Aubrey the compiler of ‘Brief Lives’, wrote about his visit to Seend in 1666: - “I went to the smythe, George Newton, an ingeniose man, who from a blacksmith turned clockmaker to fiddlemaker “ and he assured me that he has melted of this oare in his forge, which the oare of the Forest of Deane &c. will not doe”. Alamy.com
Below. Portrait of Charles II in Garter Robes (1660 -1665). In 1663, John Aubrey showed Charles II Avebury at the Kings own request. John Michael Wright, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Alamy.com
In June 2001 the Antiquarian Horological Society published an important article on George Newton of Seend by the late John Hooper, then one of the leading authorities on early lantern clocks. Hooper illustrated what is probably the earliest known surviving lantern clock by Newton, which he dated to about 1636. It is signed ‘GEORG NEWTN MEE FESET’ and carries no place name.
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Hooper’s clock is remarkably similar to the example illustrated here. Both share the same wonderfully individual dial and fret decoration, distinctive long arrowhead iron hands, iron count wheels and extremely substantial brass movement castings, including thick pillars, plates and cruciform bars. In construction and appearance the two clocks are so closely related that they might almost be described as twins.
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There is, however, an intriguing difference. The engraving on the present clock appears somewhat more confident and the signature has developed to ‘GEORGE NEWNTEN AT SEENE’. This cannot provide an exact date in itself, but it raises the reasonable possibility that the clock was made slightly later than Hooper’s example, perhaps around 1636–1638. If so, it appears presently to be the earliest known surviving George Newton lantern clock actually signed at Seend, giving it particular historical importance to the village and to the study of early provincial English clockmaking.
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John Hooper, co-author of English 30 Hour Clocks, was a highly respected authority on lantern clocks, and his 2001 article remains an important reference for the beginnings of clockmaking at Seend.
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Above. George Newton's oldest known lantern clock c1636. Signed 'GEORG NEWTN MEE FESET'. Signed without place name. A fabulous example, discovered by the late John Hooper who was the authority on the subject of early lantern clocks at the time. Photographed by Private collector. Private collection.
Below. George Newton's oldest known signed at 'Seend' lantern clock c1636-1638. Signed GEORGE NEWNTEN AT SEENE.' This clock is closely similar to John Hooper's example (shown above) in every aspect and could almost be described as twins. It is believed to be Seend's earliest known, signed at 'Seend' lantern clock making it an historically important clock for the village of Seend. Private collection, Photographed by Lee Borrett
Royal and National Emblems
In the Early Stuart Period
Both early George Newton lantern clocks discussed above carry a wonderfully charming mixture of flowers and heraldic motifs, including forms resembling the Tudor rose of England, the thistle of Scotland, the shamrock associated with Ireland and the fleur-de-lis associated with France. These were familiar national and dynastic symbols during the reigns of James VI and I and Charles I and would have been readily understood by contemporary viewers.
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Whether George Newton intended these emblems as a deliberate declaration of royal or national loyalty cannot now be proved. Nevertheless, their appearance upon clocks made in the years immediately preceding the English Civil War provides a fascinating connection with the political and cultural world in which Newton lived. To my eye, they also give his earliest clocks a wonderfully patriotic character.
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George Newton became the Seend village blacksmith in 1625 after the death of his father Richard Newton and interestingly, this was the same year as when King James VI and I, died on 24 March 1625.
Above. Portrait of King James I, by Daniël Mijtens, 1621, National Portrait Gallery. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. James VI and I was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until his death in 1625. Interestingly, James died in the same year as when George Newton became the Seend village blacksmith after the death of his father Richard Newton in 1625.
Below. Showing the George Newton clock sitting on it's very interesting antique oak wall bracket with carved Tudor Rose (England), Fleur-de-lis (France) and Thistle (Scotland). And in the same theme as the clock. Private collection, Photographed by Lee Borrett.
Summary
The wonderfully interesting pre-Civil War lantern clock illustrated here is an exceptionally rare survivor. Dating from around 1636–1638, it appears presently to be the earliest known surviving lantern clock by George Newton bearing the Seend place-name in its signature, making it an historically important object for the village and an important example of early provincial English clockmaking.
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At present, five lantern clocks by George Newton are known to me. Apart from the two early pre-Civil War examples discussed above, three later dated clocks survive from 1660, 1665 and 1677.
I think that you will agree that he was an incredibly gifted individual!
Above. George Newton was a Church warden of the Church of the Holy Cross at Seend from April 1664. This superb photograph was taken of the Church of the Holy Cross, Seend by David Lovell on 1st of May, 2017. https://historicengland.org.uk
Acknoweledgements
I would like to express my sincere thanks to Penny Hooper, who kindly allowed me to draw upon the late John Hooper’s important 2001 Antiquarian Horology article on George Newton and to reproduce photographs associated with his research. John Hooper’s work remains an invaluable reference for the beginnings of clockmaking at Seend.
I am also grateful to the private collectors who have generously allowed surviving examples of George Newton’s work to be illustrated and compared.
Further Reading
John Hooper, “George Newton of Seend: A Recently Discovered Clock,” Antiquarian Horology, Vol. 26, No. 2, June 2001.