Early Clocks | Lee Borrett
c1660
James Brundle
A fine and historically interesting lantern clock with balance-wheel control, made around the time of the Restoration of King Charles II in 1660.
The fine early lantern clock illustrated here was made around the time of the Restoration of King Charles II in 1660 and is signed on the fret ‘James Brundle Fecit’, without a place name. At present James Brundle remains an elusive and apparently otherwise unrecorded maker. Certain stylistic and constructional features suggest a possible connection with London lantern-clock practice of the period, although without documentary evidence his place of work cannot yet be stated with certainty. The chapter ring carries matchstick-style half-hour markers with single flowers, while behind the dial the star wheel incorporates the distinctive ‘matchstick man’ casting feature encountered on a number of London lantern clocks of this period. The dial centre is beautifully engraved with an all-over tulip design, and the clock, which retains its original single iron hand, stands approximately 15 inches high.
James Brundle
Fecit, c1660
Above. A Fine early lantern clock by James Brundle c1660. Private collection, Photographed by Lee Borrett.
Above. Another view of the James Brundle lantern clock c1660. Private collection, Photographed by Lee Borrett.
Below. Showing the beautifully engraved dial centre of the James Brundle lantern. The iron hand is original. Private collection, Photographed by Lee Borrett.
Below. Close-up of James Brundle's signature. Note the matchstick style single flower half-hour markers. Private collection, Photographed by Lee Borrett.
Below. Showing the James Brundle star-wheel matchstick man casting and typical of many London lantern clocks of this period.
Close examination shows that the clock originally operated with balance-wheel control, was subsequently converted to long-pendulum regulation, and at some later date was returned to balance-wheel control. Apart from these historic alterations, the movement survives in remarkably original condition, retaining its early wheelwork, tapered iron arbors, pinions, separate winding pulleys and iron clickers. These changes form part of the clock’s long working history and are entirely understandable in a lantern clock that has survived for more than three and a half centuries.
Below. Showing a left-hand view of the James Brundle movement. Note the fancily shaped iron hammer stop and lovely tapered arbours. Private collection, Photographed by Lee Borrett.
Below. Showing a closer view of James Brundle's fancily shaped iron hammer spring. Private collection, Photographed by Lee Borrett.
Below. Showing a close-up of the original iron tapered arbours and pinions. They are very worn but amazingly the clock still runs! Private collection, Photographed by Lee Borrett.
Below. Showing a right-right hand view of the James Brundle movement. Note the two original seperate rope pulley's and iron clickers are retained. Original pinions. Private collection, Photographed by Lee Borrett.
Below. Showing the top plate of the James Brundle lantern with the bell removed. The two spare holes are thought to have been used to regulate the balance wheel in the 17th century by inserting the long pin (currently in the third middle hole) to the holes either side. Private collection, Photographed by Lee Borrett.
Below. Showig a side angle view of the James Brundle lantern clock. Private collection, Photographed by Lee Borrett.
Below. A rear view of the James Brundle Lantern c1660. Private collection, Photographed by Lee Borrett.
Below. Showing the James Brundle lantern clock hanging from the wall. Private collection, Photographed by Lee Borrett.
Summary
Historically important
Background Events
King Charles II
1630-1685
Portrait of King Charles II by John Michael Wright, oil on canvas, c.1671-76. Image by Alamy.com
In 1660 the political instability that followed the death of Oliver Cromwell opened the way for the restoration of the monarchy. Charles II returned from exile and landed at Dover on 25 May 1660. Four days later, on 29 May—his thirtieth birthday—he entered London to widespread celebration and was restored to the throne. His formal coronation took place at Westminster Abbey the following year, on 23 April 1661. The Restoration brought to an end the republican experiment that had followed the execution of Charles I in 1649 and began a new political and cultural era in England.
29 May 1660: Charles II enters London in triumph following his return from exile and restoration to the throne. Image by Alamy.com
In the first year of the Restoration, Oliver Cromwell was posthumously convicted of treason and his body disinterred from its tomb in Westminster Abbey and hanged from the gallows at Tyburn.
The Great Plague
The Great Plague was London’s last major outbreak of the plague, a bacterial infection caused by Yersinia pestis. The outbreak began in the late winter or early spring of 1665. By the time King Charles II fled the city in July, the plague was killing about a thousand people a week. The death rate peaked in September when 7,165 people died in one week.
PLAGUE OF LONDON, 1665. /nLord, have mercy on London. Contemporary English woodcut on the Great Plague of 1665. Image by Alamy.com.
Official records listed 68,596 plague deaths in London, although the true total was probably more than 100,000. The disease was caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and was transmitted primarily through infected fleas. After reaching its terrible peak in the late summer and early autumn of 1665, mortality gradually declined during the winter. By February 1666 Charles II had returned to London, reflecting growing confidence that the immediate danger was passing.
The Great Fire of
London 1666
London had already burned several times in its history, most notably in 1212, but in September 1666 the conditions were present for an inferno of epic proportions. The city of 500,000 people was a tinderbox of cramped streets and timber-frame structures, many of them built with flammable pitch and tar. Stables filled with hay and straw were everywhere, and many cellars and warehouses were packed with combustible materials such as turpentine, lamp oil and coal. To make matters worse, a months-long drought had created a water shortage and left most of the wood buildings kindling-dry.
Great Fire of London 1666. Alamy.com
The fateful spark in the Great Fire came early on Sunday, September 2, at the Pudding Lane bakery of Thomas Farriner. Before heading to bed that night, Farriner had made a final inspection of his bakery and raked the spent coals in his ovens, which were still warm from a day of making ship’s biscuit for King Charles II’s navy. He would later swear that the ovens were extinguished when he retired to his upstairs apartment, but it seems that a smoldering ember escaped and started a fire. Whatever the cause, at around 1 a.m., Farriner awoke to find his house in flames. The baker and his daughter only survived by exiting an upstairs window and crawling on a gutter to a neighbor’s house. His manservant also escaped, but another servant, a young woman, perished in the smoke and flames.
By the time the Great Fire was brought under control, around 13,200 houses and 87 churches had been destroyed and approximately 100,000 Londoners were left homeless. Four fifths of the City had been devastated. Remarkably, fewer than ten deaths were officially recorded, although the true human cost can never be known with certainty. The physical destruction, however, was enormous and transformed the appearance of London for generations.
Acknoweledgements and
Historical Sources
The historical background concerning the Restoration of Charles II, the Great Plague of 1665 and the Great Fire of London in 1666 has been checked against material published by the Royal Household, The National Archives and London Museum.
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The National Archives records 68,596 officially recorded plague deaths in London and notes that the true number was probably over 100,000. London Museum records the destruction of approximately 13,200 houses and 87 churches during the Great Fire, with around 100,000 people left homeless.
In summary, this remarkable early lantern clock is a particularly evocative survivor from the opening years of Restoration England. Its beautifully engraved tulip dial, original iron hand, distinctive half-hour markers and remarkably complete early movement give it considerable horological interest.
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At present, it appears to be the only known lantern clock bearing the signature ‘James Brundle Fecit’. Other clocks are known signed ‘James Brindle Fecit’ and share certain stylistic features, raising the intriguing possibility that Brundle and Brindle may represent variant spellings of the same maker’s name. Spelling was far from standardised in the seventeenth century, so such a variation would not in itself be unusual. Equally, however, they may have been entirely separate craftsmen, and until documentary evidence comes to light the question must remain open.
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The approximate date of c.1660 places the clock at the beginning of a remarkable new chapter in English history. Charles II had returned from exile and the monarchy had been restored after the Commonwealth and Protectorate years. If Brundle was working in or around London, then only a few years later he and his customers would have lived through the terrible Great Plague of 1665 and the Great Fire of 1666. Because his place of work remains uncertain, these events are best regarded as the historical world surrounding the clock rather than events that can be attached directly to the maker himself.