Height

7 feet 3½ inches.

Case

The fully developed, Type 3 case with finely figured walnut veneers onto an oak carcass. The hood, forward sliding with dial mask, has an integral hood door with a pair of three quarter columns and brass Doric moulded capitals with matching quarter columns to the rear and pierced walnut sound frets to the lintel frieze above, the original caddy superstructure is surmounted by two brass ball finials. The hood supported by the convex throat moulding above the rectangular trunk door, with iron hinges, and numbered 325 on the inside upper cleat, together with a secondary casemakers(?) number 4 above. The sides with panelled inlay matching the base sides above the cyma mouldings to the original cross-banded inlaid plinth raised on a walnut skirting.

Dial

The handsome 11 inch square gilt-brass dial has a finely matted centre with pin-hole adjusted calendar and silvered seconds ring. The silvered chapter ring has Roman & Arabic numerals and typical sword-hilt half-hour and cross half-quarters marks, with blued steel hands. In the corners of the dial are four Indian head mask-and-foliate double-screwed spandrels with foliate engraving between (Graver 195) and the signed at the lower edge Tho: Tompion Londini Fecit. The dial is secured to the movement by means of four feet latched behind the front plate.

Movement

The typical month-duration, 6¾ by 8¼ inch, movement with heavy brass plates, punch-numbered 325 at the base, with six baluster ring-turned pillars secured to the front plate using Tompion’s robust latches. The going train with bolt and shutter maintaining power, anchor escapement and multi-piece pendulum, originally with calibrated rating nut. The strike train has a large outside countwheel planted on the backplate with the hours being struck on a bell above. The lower pillars dropping onto taper pins and the movement secured to the backboard via an L-bracket.

Provenance

The Matthey Collection no.5
Private collection UK.

Literature

Edward T. Joy, The Country Life Book of Clocks, London 1967, illustrated plate 34.
Jeremy Evans, Thomas Tompion at the Dial and Three Crowns, A.H.S., 2006.
Evans, Carter and Wright, Thomas Tompion 300 years, Waterlane 2013, pages 153 and 604.