Antique Clocks Blog

The Clockmakers Company February 10, 2012

I have mentioned about the Clockmakers Company before, but I believe this institution needs mentioning in further detail.

The Clockmakers Company was founded under a Royal Charter of King Charles I in 1631, that makes this organization coming up to 400 years old and one of the oldest guilds in the world.  It is the main reason why London and the UK became the centre of clockmaking in the 17/18 and 19th centuries. Standards were keep extremely high as a result of this guild. Its powers were restricted on the whole to the city of London but its influence stretched further afield. This vital group was important in quality control, training and the welfare of its members.  To sell and manufacture antique clocks within the city of London one first had to become a freeman of the Clockmakers Company.  This was achieved by becoming an apprentice to a free clockmaker, through purchase or by the right of a child to follow a parent into the profession. Quality was kept extremely high, as if standards slipped the Company had to right to confiscate or destroy your work.

It was also important for the Clockmakers Company to manage the various arts of clockmaking into one cohesive unit, all working together for the benefit of each other. i.e. the bell makers, engravers etc

It is important if you visit London to go to the Clockmakers Company Museum, this is situated in the Guildhall. They have in my opinion one of the finest collections of antique clocks and related information in the world. John Harrisons 5th marine chronometer completed in 1770 is on view here.

Below is a list of the masters of this Clockmakers Company from 1631 up until 1875, of course this Company is still going strong today. The Company was and still is governed by a “Court” of ten or more “Assistants”. Each  year a Master is elected and three wardens and a clerk who attends to its day to day business. You will notice some very famous antique clock makers below.

The Worshipful Company of Clockmakers (1631-1875)
The Masters
1631 David Ramsey
Named in the Charter
1632 David Ramsey
Sworn 22nd October
1633 David Ramsey
Represented by his Deputy
Henry Archer
1634 Sampson Shelton
1635 John Willow
1636 Elias Allen
1638 John Smith
1639 Sampson Shelton
1640 John Charleton
1641 John Harris
1642 Richard Masterson
1643 John Harris
1644 John Harris
1645 Edward East
1646 Simon Hackett
1647 Simon Hackett
1648 Robert Grinkin
1649 Robert Grinkin
1650 Simon Bartram
1651 Simon Bartram
1652 Edward East
1653 John Nicasius
1654 Robert Grinkin
1655 John Nicasius
1656 Thomas Holland
1657 Benjamin Hill
1658 Benjamin Hill
1659 Simon Hackett
1660 John Pennock
1661 John Coxeter
1662 John Coxeter
1663 John Pennock
1664 Henry Child
1665 Jeremy Gregory
1666 Jeremy Gregory
1667 Jeremy Gregory
1668 Thomas Taylor
1669 Thomas Taylor
1670 Thomas Claxton
1671 Nicholas Coxter
1672 Samuel Home
1673 Samuel Home
1674 Jeffery Bailey
1675 Jeffery Bailey
1676 Jeremy Gregory
1677 Nicholas Coxeter
1678 Ralph Almond
1679 Samuel Vernon
1680 Walter Hayes
1681 John Brown
1682 Richard Ames (died)
Benjamin Bell
1683 Richard Lyons
1684 Thomas Wheeler
1685 Richard Jarratt
1686 Edward Norris
1687 Thomas Taylor
1689 Nathaniel Barrow
1690 Henry Wynne
1691 Henry Jones
1692 Nicasius Russell
1693 William Knotsford
1694 William Clements
1695 Wither Cheney (excused)
Walter Henshaw
1696 John Sellar (excused)
Edward Stanton
1697 John Ebsworth
1698 Robert Williamson
1699 Robert Halstead
1700 Charles Gretton
1701 William Speakman
1702 Joseph Windmills
1703 Thomas Tompion
1704 Robert Webster
1705 Benjamin Graves
1706 John Finch
1707 John Pepys
1708 Daniel Quare
1709 George Etherington
1710 Thomas Taylor
1711 Thomas Gibbs
1712 John Shaw
1713 Sir George Mettins (Lord
Mayor 1724-1725)
1714 John Barrow

1715 Thomas Feilder
1716 William Jaques
1717 Nathaniel Chamberlain
1718 Thomas Windmills
1719 Edward Crouch
1720 James Markwick
1721 Martin Jackson
1722 George Graham
1723 John Berry
1724 Joseph Williamson (died)
1725 Peter Wise
1726 Langley Bradley
1727 Cornelius Herbert
1728 James Drury
1729 Richard Vick
1730 Thomas Stones
1731 John Marsden
1732 William Bertram (died)
1733 William Tomlinson
1734 Edward Faulkner
1735 Hugh Richards
1736 James Snelling
1737 Thomas Wrightson
1738 John Maberly
1739 John Pepys
1740 William Sherwood
1741 John Stafford
1742 Thomas Hughes
1743 David Hubert
1744 John Hiorne
1745 Joshua Appleby
1746 Mathew Skinner
1747 Nathaniel Delander
1748 Samuel Whichcote
1749 William Scafe
1750 Henry Horne
(Change to new style calendar)
1751 Nathaniel Style
1752 Joseph Stephens
1753 Henton Browne
1754 Jasper Taylor
1755 William Webster
1756 Francis Perigal
1757 Charles Cabrier
1758 Conyers Dunlop
1759 Devereux Bowley
1760 Stephen Goujon
1761 Benjamin Sidey
1762 John Jones
1763 Anthony Benn (died)
1764 Samuel Whichcote
1764 William Addis
1765 Thomas Hughes
1766 Daniel Fenn
1767 Peter Higgs
1768 Samuel Charrington (died)
Charles Merry
1769 Thomas Garle
1770 James Brown
1771 Daniel Aveline (died)
1772 Eliezer Chater
1773 David Rivers
1774 William Rogerson
1775 Francis Perigal
1776 Joseph Stephens
1778 Southern Payne
1779 William Plimley
1780 Francis Atkins
1781 Robert Poole
1782 Thomas Lea
1783 Nathaniel Sargeant
1784 James Green
1785 Hilton Wray
1786 Edward Tutet
1787 Charles Howse
1788 James Richardson
1789 Benjamin Sidey
1790 Richard Style
1791 Daniel Fenn
1792 The Rev. Dr. Robert
Hamilton
1793 Samuel Fenn
1794 William Rivers
1795 Harry Potter
1796 John Jackson
1797 John Ward
1798 Richard Duncombe
1799 John Marriott
1800 Matthew Dutton
1801 William Plumley
1802 Edward Gibson
1803 Timothy Chisman
1804 William Pearce
1805 William Robins
1806 Francis S Perigal Jnr
1807 Samuel Taylor
1808 Thomas Dolley
1809 William Robson
1810 Paul Philip Barraud
1811 Paul Philip Barraud
1812 Harry Potter (died)
1813 Isaac Rogers
1814 William Robins
1815 John Thwaites
1816 William Robson
(First Master to be sworn in
January of the following year)
1817 John Roger Arnold
1818 William Robson
1819 John Thwaites
1820 John Thwaites
1821 Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy
1822 John Jackson Jnr
1823 Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy
1824 Isaac Rogers
1825 Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy
1826 John Jackson
1827 Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy
1828 Richard Ganthany
1829 Richard Ganthany
1830 William Harris
1831 William Harris
1832 William Harris
1833 John Sharp
1834 Edward Ellicott
1835 Edward Ellicott (died)
John Sharp
1836 William James Frodsham
1837 William James Frodsham
1838 John Grant
1839 John Grant
1840 William Gravell
1841 William Gravell
1842 Joseph Fenn
1843 Joseph Fenn
1844 Richard Pinfold Ganthaed (died)
1845 George Atkins
1846 John Grant
1847 Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy
1848 Francis Bryant Adams
1849 Francis Bryant Adams
1850 John Aldington Perry
1851 John Aldington Perry
1852 George Harker
1853 George Harker
1854 James Adams
1855 Charles Frodsham
1856 John Carter, Alderman
1857 James Adams
1858 John Grant
1859 John Carter (Lord Mayor
1859/1860)
1860 William Rowlands
1861 George William Adams
1862 Charles Frodsham
1863 Joseph Fenn
1864 John Carter, Alderman
1865 Francis Bryant Adams
1866 John Garratt Curtis Addison
1867 William Rowlands (died)
1868 John Grant
1868 George William Adams
1869 William Lawley
1870 George Moore
1871 John Garratt Curtis Addison
1872 William Wing
1873 Charles Wellborne
1874 William Lawley
1875 George Moore

 

30 Hour Antique Clocks February 3, 2012

My last post was about my favourite antique clock makers, I jumped to the support of a superb provincial clockmaker at the expence of the hundreds of high quality London makers. In no way was I undermining the great London clockmakers though. We sell more London mahogany grandfather clocks than any others. I must say we all owe a great deal to the formation of the clockmakers company in London. The clockmakers company set standards high and as a result we have lots of special clocks as a result. Clearly the UK and London became the centre of clockmaking in the 18th century. It is something I am very proud of.

I do think there is a place though for the simple 30 hour antique clock produced in the provinces. London looked down on the simple 30 hour in the 18th century and no 30 hour grandfather clock examples I believe were produced there after the about C1700. They thought the same of oak cabinets. You will not see a genuine oak London longcase clock I believe, all these were veneered in walnut/marquetry or in figured mahogany, or decorated with chinese lacquer work.

The Clockmakers Company kept standards in London high but provincial 30 hour clock have a character of there own. In the 18th century you still had to be well off to own a grandfather clock, they were normally the most expensive item in the household.

30 hours clocks can have a single hand or two hands to tell the time and most examples do not have a second hand. For a 30Hour clock to have a second hand it would need a extra wheel in its train or it would run backwards.

Original 18th century 30 hour oak or pine clocks that have not been altered or have not suffered from the deaded rot or worm infestation are rare though, many have lost parts of their bases over the years or had their movements converted from 30 hour to ’8-day’ examples. Both of these dramatically effects the value and I would not recommend purchasing one of these.

If you own a cottage though there is nothing better than a simple oak ’30-hour’ antique clock. You will find they will be very reliable and will fit in with the low ceilings in a cottage much better. Most collectable ’30-hour’ grandfather clocks will have either 10 or 11inch dials, this makes them smaller and slimmer than their standard ’8-day’ equivalent.

Most 30 Hour grandfather clocks are wound with a rope or chain, since this rope or chain is on a continious loop, the clocks weight is always engaged when winding. This means that the clock will not stop or lose time during winding, this is effectively the same as ‘maintaining power’ on the fine regulator clocks. The clocks will strike on the hour and it is the same weight that drives the time or going side and the striking side. This is partly why the clock will only last one day on a wind. If you put a clothes peg on the flywheel of the strike mechanism, a 30hour clock would normally last for about 3 days before needing to be wound.

If you do decide to take the plunge and buy a collectable 30 hour grandfather clock after reading this, make sure you buy from a recognised dealer, who will give you a money back guarantee that the clock is genuine.  Remember to enjoy your search for your grandfather clock whether that be a simple 30 hour clock or a ’8-day’ example.

As with all antique clocks you are only a custodian of them for future generations. They with live long beyond us if cared for properly.

What is my favourite antique clock maker? January 27, 2012

I have decided to answer a question that I get asked so so many times. When you have so many antique clocks, which one do you like best? It is a very difficult question to answer, as I love antique clocks, I have loved them all my life. There is no one set clock that I would say, this is the one for me. I would say though there is one clockmaker I truly respect amongst all others.

You might well expect me to go for a special London clockmaker, so many names run off the tongue. We have Thomas Tompion, the father of English clockmaking, Fromanteel, a very special early clockmaker. Edward East another early and well respected clockmaker, Geroge Graham, Daniel Quare, John Ellicott, a very special maker, Eardley Norton, John Knibb, wow the list is so long and I could include many many more. These are truly amazing clockmakers yes. You will notice though they are all London clockmakers. It was far far easier to get on, produce wonderful clocks in London, than pretty much anywhere else in the 17th/18th centuries.

After long thought I have decided the workmanship and talents of the Ogden family of clockmakers, and in particular Thomas Ogden . To produce such amazing workmanship away from the centre of clockmaking and knowledge that was London, makes him my no 1 choice. He certainly has the X factor for me !

                                                                                                   

Thomas Ogden was from a family of quakers. He was born in C1693. He initially worked in Ripponden, probably continuing his fathers business, and then moved to Halifax, where he had a shop on the High Street and Upper Swift Place in Soyland. He died with no children in 1769 aged 77

Thomas Ogden’s work is of the highest quality. He is one of the very few clockmakers, that put a half round brass beed, as seen the pictures above, around his dial. No spandrels to the dial is a typical quaker thing to do. I have been lucky to own a few of his antique clocks and every one, like the one above is exacting in every detail. The internal workmanship is not matched in my opinion, especially considering he is not from the establishment of clockmakers, that was London in the 17th and 18th centuries.

He produced some wonderful globe moons or  ‘Halifax moons’ ,as they were later called and various world time dials, he is in my opinion the finest of all provincial clockmakers and in some ways one of the finest of all clockmakers.

Timekeeping – Antique Clocks January 19, 2012

For all antique and modern clocks with pendulums, this is the only thing that controls the speed of the clock, if you want it to go faster or slower. All other factors can be considered constant. This can be seen from the equation relating to the period of swing of a simple pendulum.

T = 2π√(L/g)

where

• T is the period in seconds (s)
• pi = 3.14 (it is also written as the Greek letter π)
• L is the length pendulum in meters or feet
• g is the acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s² or 32 ft/s²)

If your antique clocks are correctly set up and are fast and gaining time, you will need to lengthen the pendulums, and if your clock is slow, you will need to shorten the pendulum of the clock, to quicken it up.

All clock pendulum rods and bobs prior to the temperature compensated pendulums either will expand or contract with temperature changes, and need to be adjusted accordingly. Most antique clocks in centrally heated houses will be remarkedly accurate though, after you have adjusted to your mean temperature.

Temperature Compensated Pendulums on Clocks

Probably the earliest method for trying to overcome deviations in timekeeping as a result of temperature changes was the wood rod pendulum. In long grain the wood rod will expand only a little and this expansion will be compensated by the addition of a large brass cased lead bob. This brass bob will also expand slightly up and down from the rating nut, with temperature changes.

Refining the accuracy of the very best precision clocks was a quest which went on from the early 18th century with Harrison’s grid iron pendulum. Differing expansions of metals was understood many years earlier and Harrison devised a pendulum with a specific proportion of brass and iron, these two metals would have rates of expansion and contraction that would effectively cancel each other out.

In 1722 Graham produced a mercury compensated pendulum. The mercury as seen in a regulator clock in the picture above is contained in a jar and is effectively acting the same as a normal brass pendulum bob. Mercury will expand roughly 6 times the rate of steel and so in the ratio 1:6 the expansions will roughly cancel each other out.  The thermal coefficients of the differing metals is therefore important when building compensated pendulums. Glass being a poor conductor of heat was the only real negative to this invention but this method proved very effective and the pendulums do look stunning. These type of clocks are very collectible.

Their were various other pendulum’s developed like Ellicott’s compensated pendulum and Richie’s compensated pendulum on regulator clocks and the eventual use of metals like Invar which is a mix of nickel/iron and small quantities of carbon and manganese.

All these compensated pendulums are  just trying to keep the effective length of the pendulum the same. When I say effective length of the pendulum, this will be from the bending point of the feather at the top of the clocks pendulum, to the centre of gravity of the pendulum  near its bottom.  This is why on some clocks coins or small weights were added on the rod to change fine timekeeping.

Humidity: Antique Furniture and Clocks January 12, 2012

This particular topic is very dear to my heart and it is vital for not only for people that own antique clocks and furniture, but people that care about their health. No doubt many ears pricked up when I mentioned health. Yes that’s right, both low humidity and high humidity have been found to be major contributors to asthma. Clearly humidity changes and the incorrect humidity will effect all things like your plaster, cornice or your newly laid expensive wood floor. You will notice splits or the joints opening up or general warping.

All natural things are susceptible to damage from either low or high humidity, whether that be mold damage or shrinkage damage. Clearly most antique furniture pieces are veneered, which means a flamboyant wood like mahogany on the outside and oak or pine on the carcass. These two different woods have differing expansion rates. Rapid changes to humidity or prolonged low humidity will therefore lead to warping, splitting or cracks developing in the veneers. Also veneers on antiques are stuck on normally by ‘animal glues’, after changes to humidity and temperature over time veneers tend to drop off.  This can be an early sign of the incorrect humidity levels in your home or office.  Another early warning sign is the hood glass on your grandfather clock splitting from side to side. The door frame shrinks leaving the glass no where to go. If this happens get your humidity levels urgently checked before expensive restoration work is required. If this problem is left untreated it may be too late.

It is vital antique clocks and furniture should be kept in a controlled environment. Rapid changes to humidity or prolonged low or high humidity can cause damage as described above.  I would say more antiques have been damaged by central heating and having low humidity than at any time in their history. This is a real shame and something that is easily corrected.

Humidity is the amount of moisture or water molecules in the air and should be kept at between 40-65%. Humidity levels can be checked by purchasing a hygrometer. Humidity levels can be adjusted to the correct levels by either a humidifier (if you have low humidity) or a de-humidifier (in cases of high humidity)

An interesting fact that many people will not know if you have low humidity and like it warm, by increasing your humidity you will be able to have noticeably lower temperatures and still feel comfortable. Slightly increasing your humidity can therefore save on heating costs. 

 By controlling your humidity to the desired levels you can therefore:

 1) save your antiques from damage

 2) save money on your heating bill

3) look after your health in the process