Exhibit № 10: Edward Stanton, London. Circa 1666

18¾ inches (478 mm)

The case of architectural form with ebony veneers and mouldings onto an oak carcass, the full depth architectural pediment, set on either slope with matching raised rectangular panels above a plain frieze and projecting beyond the sides and front of the case below. The front door unadorned but appearing to be originally conceived to have three-quarter columns, the sides glazed and with similar allowance for quarter columns to the rear uprights. The fully veneered plain flat back with two sound holes behind the pediment, above the veneered solid door. All resting on the main plinth thumb moulding, and mounted on a square-edged ebony turntable base with ebony bun feet.

The 8 inch (205 mm) square gilt-brass dial with gilt-brass winged cherub’s-head spandrels to the corners and signed along the bottom edge Edward Stanton Londini Fecit. The slender silvered chapter ring with inner quarter divisions, Roman hours and half-hour marks, the outer Arabic minutes engraved every 5, within the minute division ring with fine blued steel pierced and shaped hands. The polished centre with engraved Tudor rose and pierced by three winding holes. The dial is held to the movement by four latched feet.

The substantial bottle-shape plated movement with split frontplate held by eight slender inverted vase-shaped pillars, riveted to the backplate and latched to the double divided frontplate, planted with three trains of four-wheels with shallow fusees and spring barrels; the hour strike train winding anti-clockwise and the going and quarter trains clockwise. The going train with knife-edge verge escapement and short bob pendulum, the quarter train governed by a pinned countwheel to the front and ting-tang striking at each of the four quarters on the two smaller vertically mounted bells. On the hour, after striking the fourth quarter, an extended pin on the quarter countwheel activates a trip lever, releasing the hour train to strike on the largest bell above, governed by the large countwheel on the backplate. The movement secured by swing clips holding the bottom corners of the backplate.

3½ days

RT Gwynn Collection UK, until sold;

John C Taylor Collection, inventory no.45

Lee, The First Twelve Years of the English Pendulum Clock, 1969, exhibit no.35;

Hurst, ‘The First Twelve Years of the English Pendulum Clock’, Antiquarian Horology, June 1969, p.155, fig. 15 & 16;

Loomes, The Early Clockmakers of Great Britain, 1981, pl.X (illus.)

Dawson, Drover & Parkes, Early English Clocks, 1982, p.157-158, pl.205 and 206;

RT Gwynn Catalogue, private, 1990, inventory C13;

Horological Masterworks, Oxford, 2003, p.70-73;

Huygens’ Legacy, Holland, 2004, p.80-81;

Garnier & Hollis, Innovation & Collaboration, 2018, p.206-207

Knife-edge verge with short bob pendulum

Countwheel hour and ting-tang full quarter striking

2003, Oxford Museum for the History of Science and the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, exhibit no.16;

2004, Holland, Palais Het Loo, Huygens’ Legacy, exhibit no.29;

2018, London, Innovation & Collaboration, exhibit no.45