Early Clocks | Lee Borrett
George Newton
"An Ingenius Man"
At Seend
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. Click here to see my full article.
Attributed to James Browne
Civil War Lantern
of Bristol, c1642
A fine early Civil War lantern clock attributed to James Browne of Bristol, c1642. Wonderfully elegant proportions with an ultra-narrow chapter ring and early rounded brass pillars. This early Civil War lantern clock is now thought most likely to have been made in the workshop of James Browne of Bristol while his son Thomas was serving his apprenticeship. It may represent one of the earliest surviving provincial English lantern clocks and is an exceptionally early example from the formative years of the Bristol School. Click here to see my full article.
Thomas Browne in Bristoll,
Lantern Clock, c1650
This is the only known signed lantern clock by Thomas Browne of Bristol, c.1650. The attribution of all other surviving clocks associated with the Browne workshop is founded upon comparison with this unique signed example. Recent research by Professor Jonathan Barry, based upon the original Bristol civic records, has shown that Thomas was apprenticed to his father, James Browne, and his wife Elizabeth on 12 October 1637 as a smith. Click here to see my full article.
James Brundle Fecit
circa 1660
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. At present, it appears to be the only known lantern clock bearing the signature ‘James Brundle Fecit’. Click here to see my full article.
Richard Savage Fecit
Dated 1692
The wonderfully interesting and historic lantern clock illustrated here with its original verge escapement was made by Richard Savage of Much Wenlock in Shropshire for the Yarpole Wedding of Edward Pardoe and Millborough Brown, at Yarpole Church in Hererordshire, 30th April, 1692. Click here to see my full article.