| Height | 7 foot 8 inches (233 cm). |
| Case | The fine Type 3 figured walnut case, with dial mask and forward sliding hood, the three-sided caddy top with inset pedestals and two brass ball finials, flanking a central pedestal with a larger conforming ball finial. The double frieze and typical cornice mouldings between, with pierced walnut sound frets to the front above brass-capped three-quarter Doric columns flanking the hood door. The hood resting on concave throat mouldings, above the rectangular trunk door with highly figured walnut veneers framed by mitred D-shaped door mouldings, and punch-numbered 322 to the top leading edge with a secondary number 8 below, the trunk sides framed with archetypal cross-banding and herringbone inlay. The matching framed plinth with conforming book-matched figured veneers to the front, raised on an original walnut skirting. The backboard has a peened iron bracket in the usual manner to secure the movement, with a 19th century inventory chalk-mark for Eywood and a 20th century Hampton & Sons, Battersea Park depository label on the back. |
| Dial | The 11 inch square fire-gilded brass dial signed Tho: Tompion Londini Fecit along the lower edge, the silvered chapter ring with Roman hours and typical sword-hilt half-hours, Arabic minutes and cross half-quarters, with finely pierced and shaped blued steel hands. The matted centre with seconds ring and pin-adjusted calendar aperture, shuttered winding holes with the shutter lever to the left edge of dial between IX and X, double-screwed gilt-brass Indian mask & scroll spandrels, with engraved scrolling foliage between, attributed to Graver 195, and four latched dial feet. The rear of the dial plate with three post mounted and individually ring-marked rollers for the date ring, and scratch-numbered 322 behind XII. |
| Movement | The substantial month-going movement with archetypal rectangular plates held by six latched and finned baluster pillars. The going train with bolt and shutter maintaining power, anchor escapement and one-second multi-piece brass-rod pendulum with lenticular bob and calibrated rating nut. The strike train governed by a typical large external countwheel, driven by a pinion of report, and striking on the bell above. The backplate with cut-out for the pallets and punch-numbered 322 to the bottom centre, with two typical multi-piece pulleys and original brass cased weights. The whole resting on the seatboard, held by two screws into the base pillars and secured to the backboard by a screwed L-shaped brass bracket. |
| Duration | One month |
| Provenance | Probably ordered by Edward Harley MP (1664-1735), of Eywood, Herefordshire, thence by descent to his son; Edward Harley (1726-1790), succeeding in 1741 as 3rd Earl of Oxford and Mortimer. Thence by descent with the earldom; Alfred Harley (1809-1853), 6th and last Earl of Oxford and Mortimer, thence Eywood passing to his elder sister, Lady Jane Langdale (1796-1872) and then his younger sister, Lady Charlotte Bacon (1801-1880); by descent to her son; Edward Harley Bacon (b.1842), who declined an offer to re-instate the earldom and immediately sold the entire estate, house and contents; Arthur Walsh (1827-1920), 2nd Baron Ormathwaite, the purchaser of Eywood, who went bankrupt in 1895. Dispersal of Eywood’s household chattels started in 1894, when no.322 was acquired by the current owner’s family. |
| Comparative Literature | Evans, Carter and Wright, Thomas Tompion 300 Years, 2013. |
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The Eywood Tompion, No.322, Circa 1699.
A very fine and previously unrecorded William III figured walnut Type 3 month-going longcase clock by Thomas Tompion, London.
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Tompion’s serial number 322 indicates that Edward Harley probably ordered this clock in c.1699, perhaps initially for use in his London residence at his chambers in New Square, Lincoln’s Inn, before moving it to Eywood sometime after the house was completed in c.1705. That the clock remained at Eywood after 1741, when Edward Harley’s son inherited the earldom together with the family’s primary residence, Brampton Bryan Hall, was probably due to already having a number of Tompion clocks installed there, which had been purchased direct from Tompion by Edward Harley’s elder brother, Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer (1661-1724).
Edward Harley MP (1664-1735) of Eywood, Herefordshire
The Harleys were descended from a long line of Herefordshire squires; in the 17th century they were Presbyterians, parliamentarians and Whigs. Edward Harley was second son of Sir Edward Harley (1624-1700) of Brampton Bryan, Herefordshire and the younger brother of Robert Harley (1661-1724). Edward was educated at Westminster School and the Middle Temple, where he was called to the bar in 1688. His father was MP for Herefordshire in ten Parliaments and raised a troop of horse in support of the Prince of Orange in 1688, and Edward recorded his own part: Sir E. Harley sent me… to London to buy arms, and to transmit to him the best intelligence I could get, which, during the greatest part of King James’s reign, I weekly sent to him by a method of writing not to be discovered…[B]eing thoroughly convinced that the religion and liberties of the nation were then at stake, I acted without the least fear and less caution than I ought … Apprehending myself discovered in buying arms, I got out of London and…met the Prince [of Orange] at Salisbury… From Salisbury I went directly into Herefordshire and met my father…he and my brother having raised a troop of horse. The family seized Worcester and were rewarded by William III with a grant of land in Radnorshire, carrying extensive electoral influence there.
Edward Harley represented Droitwich in Parliament from 1695 to 1698, after which he was the member for Leominster, almost continuously, until 1722. Both brothers had begun as Whigs, but gradually changed their politics, Robert became leader of the Tory party, he was in government as de facto Prime Minister (the post was yet to be specified) from 1710 to 1714, and was created 1st Earl of Oxford in 1711. Both Robert and Edward married sisters of the 1st Lord Foley, with whose family the Harleys were closely allied in national and local politics. Edward was made Recorder of Leominster from 1692 to 1732, and in 1702 he was appointed to the lucrative lifetime role of Auditor of the Imprests and, to distinguish him from his brother, became known as Auditor Harley. In the same year, 1702, Edward was able to purchase the Eywood estate at Titley, Herefordshire and proceeded to build a new house that was completed in 1705. As this clock testifies, both brothers were customers of Tompion, and a bill to Robert Harley covering the same period as this longcase, 1695 to 1704/5 survives; containing charges for four clocks, a silver watch, a gold chain, a thermometer, a barometer, and sundry repairs [BL. Dept. Mss. Add. Ms. 70264, Misc.5].
In 1715 the political landscape changed, and Edward exerted himself to maintain his family’s electoral interests in Radnorshire, Bishop’s Castle and Leominster, but with little success. In Radnorshire, he wrote, I never met with so much open villainy and secret perfidy as universally prevailed … which has brought me to a resolution to dispose of my estate in that county. The same applied to Bishop’s Castle, where the baseness and perfidy that I met with in this place has brought me to the like resolution of parting with it, being unwilling to leave the temptation to my son of being drawn into a great expense upon such mercenary rascals. Only Leominster, where I had the least reason to expect success, remained loyal. Edward was re-elected after a contest, but the ascension of George I placed his brother out of favour and a motion for Lord Oxford’s impeachment was brought. Edward vigorously opposed this, but he was unsuccessful, and his brother the earl was imprisoned in the Tower of London for two years. However, he did successfully refute charges of financial dishonesty brought against himself as Auditor of the Imprests.
At the general election of 1717, Harley proposed to decline nomination for Leominster on account of his health, but not wishing to refuse the kind invitation he received from the borough, he stood, only to be heavily defeated. He lodged a petition but allowed it to drop, withdrawing into private life. He contributed towards the setting up of charity schools, maintaining three from his own resources in Herefordshire and Monmouthshire, and in 1725 was chosen as chairman of the trustees for charity schools in London.
From 1717, Edward Harley was responsible for the supervision of the development of the Cavendish-Harley estates in Marylebone. In December of that year, Edward Harley wrote to his namesake nephew to tell him that six peers; Dartmouth, Carnarvon, Harcourt, Bingley, Bathurst and Castleton, were set to take leases and build on their estate. All were Tories associated with the Harley administration that ended in 1714, and they all intended houses on the newly proposed development, Cavendish Square, the name deriving from his nephew’s wife, Lady Henrietta Cavendish Holles. Meanwhile, further building on their estates resulted in other locations named after the family, such as Harley Street.
During his later years he wrote several devotional works, before dying on 30th August 1735 at his chambers in Lincoln’s Inn. He was buried at Titley, the parish in which Eywood was situated, and fittingly, it was his personal piety that was best remembered. Queen Anne had called him a very good man, while in 1735, not long before Harley’s death, the son of the Bishop of Sodor and Man remarked with admiration that his whole life has been one preparation for futurity. The inscription on his funerary monument recalled that the … tenor of his life was strictly moral . and the great example of piety and religion is the great consolation and blessing he has transmitted to posterity. While in politics he had displayed a steady and unbiassed adherence to the constitution, and a disinterested zeal for the good of his country, yet his assiduity in civil employments neither lessened his attention to religion, nor interrupted his daily course of devotion; the discharge of his duty as a Christian was the source and centre of all his desires.
Product Description
Tompion’s serial number 322 indicates that Edward Harley probably ordered this clock in c.1699, perhaps initially for use in his London residence at his chambers in New Square, Lincoln’s Inn, before moving it to Eywood sometime after the house was completed in c.1705. That the clock remained at Eywood after 1741, when Edward Harley’s son inherited the earldom together with the family’s primary residence, Brampton Bryan Hall, was probably due to already having a number of Tompion clocks installed there, which had been purchased direct from Tompion by Edward Harley’s elder brother, Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer (1661-1724).
Edward Harley MP (1664-1735) of Eywood, Herefordshire
The Harleys were descended from a long line of Herefordshire squires; in the 17th century they were Presbyterians, parliamentarians and Whigs. Edward Harley was second son of Sir Edward Harley (1624-1700) of Brampton Bryan, Herefordshire and the younger brother of Robert Harley (1661-1724). Edward was educated at Westminster School and the Middle Temple, where he was called to the bar in 1688. His father was MP for Herefordshire in ten Parliaments and raised a troop of horse in support of the Prince of Orange in 1688, and Edward recorded his own part: Sir E. Harley sent me… to London to buy arms, and to transmit to him the best intelligence I could get, which, during the greatest part of King James’s reign, I weekly sent to him by a method of writing not to be discovered…[B]eing thoroughly convinced that the religion and liberties of the nation were then at stake, I acted without the least fear and less caution than I ought … Apprehending myself discovered in buying arms, I got out of London and…met the Prince [of Orange] at Salisbury… From Salisbury I went directly into Herefordshire and met my father…he and my brother having raised a troop of horse. The family seized Worcester and were rewarded by William III with a grant of land in Radnorshire, carrying extensive electoral influence there.
Edward Harley represented Droitwich in Parliament from 1695 to 1698, after which he was the member for Leominster, almost continuously, until 1722. Both brothers had begun as Whigs, but gradually changed their politics, Robert became leader of the Tory party, he was in government as de facto Prime Minister (the post was yet to be specified) from 1710 to 1714, and was created 1st Earl of Oxford in 1711. Both Robert and Edward married sisters of the 1st Lord Foley, with whose family the Harleys were closely allied in national and local politics. Edward was made Recorder of Leominster from 1692 to 1732, and in 1702 he was appointed to the lucrative lifetime role of Auditor of the Imprests and, to distinguish him from his brother, became known as Auditor Harley. In the same year, 1702, Edward was able to purchase the Eywood estate at Titley, Herefordshire and proceeded to build a new house that was completed in 1705. As this clock testifies, both brothers were customers of Tompion, and a bill to Robert Harley covering the same period as this longcase, 1695 to 1704/5 survives; containing charges for four clocks, a silver watch, a gold chain, a thermometer, a barometer, and sundry repairs [BL. Dept. Mss. Add. Ms. 70264, Misc.5].
In 1715 the political landscape changed, and Edward exerted himself to maintain his family’s electoral interests in Radnorshire, Bishop’s Castle and Leominster, but with little success. In Radnorshire, he wrote, I never met with so much open villainy and secret perfidy as universally prevailed … which has brought me to a resolution to dispose of my estate in that county. The same applied to Bishop’s Castle, where the baseness and perfidy that I met with in this place has brought me to the like resolution of parting with it, being unwilling to leave the temptation to my son of being drawn into a great expense upon such mercenary rascals. Only Leominster, where I had the least reason to expect success, remained loyal. Edward was re-elected after a contest, but the ascension of George I placed his brother out of favour and a motion for Lord Oxford’s impeachment was brought. Edward vigorously opposed this, but he was unsuccessful, and his brother the earl was imprisoned in the Tower of London for two years. However, he did successfully refute charges of financial dishonesty brought against himself as Auditor of the Imprests.
At the general election of 1717, Harley proposed to decline nomination for Leominster on account of his health, but not wishing to refuse the kind invitation he received from the borough, he stood, only to be heavily defeated. He lodged a petition but allowed it to drop, withdrawing into private life. He contributed towards the setting up of charity schools, maintaining three from his own resources in Herefordshire and Monmouthshire, and in 1725 was chosen as chairman of the trustees for charity schools in London.
From 1717, Edward Harley was responsible for the supervision of the development of the Cavendish-Harley estates in Marylebone. In December of that year, Edward Harley wrote to his namesake nephew to tell him that six peers; Dartmouth, Carnarvon, Harcourt, Bingley, Bathurst and Castleton, were set to take leases and build on their estate. All were Tories associated with the Harley administration that ended in 1714, and they all intended houses on the newly proposed development, Cavendish Square, the name deriving from his nephew’s wife, Lady Henrietta Cavendish Holles. Meanwhile, further building on their estates resulted in other locations named after the family, such as Harley Street.
During his later years he wrote several devotional works, before dying on 30th August 1735 at his chambers in Lincoln’s Inn. He was buried at Titley, the parish in which Eywood was situated, and fittingly, it was his personal piety that was best remembered. Queen Anne had called him a very good man, while in 1735, not long before Harley’s death, the son of the Bishop of Sodor and Man remarked with admiration that his whole life has been one preparation for futurity. The inscription on his funerary monument recalled that the … tenor of his life was strictly moral . and the great example of piety and religion is the great consolation and blessing he has transmitted to posterity. While in politics he had displayed a steady and unbiassed adherence to the constitution, and a disinterested zeal for the good of his country, yet his assiduity in civil employments neither lessened his attention to religion, nor interrupted his daily course of devotion; the discharge of his duty as a Christian was the source and centre of all his desires.
Additional information
| Dimensions | 5827373 cm |
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