ANTIQUES FAIR One to tick all the boxes A rare find – a longcase clock from one of England’s greatest craftsmen

HE WAS the son of a blacksmith. He made clocks for Charles II, James II, William & Mary and Queen Anne and, such was his importance, he was buried in the central aisle of Westminster Abbey.

That’s why the discovery of a previously unknown clock by Thomas Tompion, the father of English clockmaking, is something to get excited about.

Antiquarian horologist Howard Walwyn, who “found” the walnut and mulberry veneered longcase clock, its movement and case in original condition, is understandably coy about where the discovery was made, saying only that it was in the North West of England.

Then he had to authenticate it. When he began his research, he was unable to find any record of the clock. Stylistically, he had no doubt about it.

The key piece of physical evidence was an invoice inexplicably languishing in War Office archives.

It was from John Ellicott (1706-1772), a later royal clockmaker, dated November 26, 1753, for £1 1s 0d “for cleaning & repairing an Eight day Tompion No. 941”.

The serial number 241 was found engraved on both the clock’s movement and at the top of the door in the body of the newly-discovered clock.

Tompion was the first watchmaker, or indeed instrument maker of any kind, to assign each of his creations a production number, and 241 indicated that this clock was made around 1694.

As Tompion made only 542 clocks and this was a similarly numbered piece, it is highly possible that 941 was a misreading of 241.

Howard says: “Having bought and sold English period clocks for 35 years, you can imagine that I have made many discoveries, as well as clocks that will forever remain mysteries.

“Finding an unrecorded Tompion is one of the highlights of my career. As Tompion is indisputably the greatest English clockmaker of his time, much research has been undertaken on his works, so to find a clock completely new to the market, not listed in a past auction catalogue or featured in a book, is especially exciting and a very rare occurrence.”

An old trade label inside the trunk door of the clock’s case states: “This clock stood for many years at Halswell Hall, Devonshire, the ancestoral [sic] home of the late Lord Wharton.”

“We can now confidently fill one of the missing gaps in the Tompion oeuvre,” Howard adds.

Tompion was born in Ickwell Green, Northill, Bedfordshire, in around 1639, the eldest son of a blacksmith of the same name. Today, the family cottage in Ickwell Green is maintained by the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, founded by a Royal Charter granted by Charles I in 1631.

Tompion was Master of the company in 1703.

He moved to London in 1671 where he was apprenticed to a clockmaker

Howard Walwyn winding an exceptional flower and bird marquetry longcase clock by Tompion, circa 16801685, and, right, the master clockmaker himself, Thomas Tompion and established his own business at the sign of The Dial in Water Lane, off Fleet Street in 1674 and among his first commissions was a turret clock for the Tower of London.

His early clocks indicate he may have had close links with Joseph Knibb, another of the greatest horologists of this time.

Tompion’s business flourished. His workshop moved to larger premises at 67 Fleet Street in 1676 and by the 1690s, it was known as The Dial and Three Crowns, by which time it had as many as 20 employees.

Over the years more than

Charles II ebony veneered quarter striking bracket clock by Tompion with an eightday movement circa 1682 100 apprentices and collaborators passed through his workshop. A number were highly skilled Dutch and French Huguenot craftsmen who enabled Tompion to create the finest movements, dials and cases for wealthy clients. He was an early member of the Clockmakers’ Company, being elected to the livery in 1691, served as a Junior Warden in 1700 and Master in 1703.

Tompion is credited with inventing different types of movement and repeating systems for clocks and watches, as well as producing some of the finest escapements. He was one of the first clockmakers to machine-cut mechanisms effectively and reduce the problem of dust. Part of the secret of Tompion’s success was his collaboration with a number of eminent scientists including Robert Hooke (16351703), a distinguished mathematician and physicist and the

Royal Society’s

Curator of Experiments.

This gave Tompion access to the most up-to-date technology and assisted him with his movement designs. Thanks to Hooke, Tompion came to the notice of Charles II and from that time on, he held an unrivalled position among the clockmakers of his day.

He also worked with Sir Jonas Moore, surveyor and mathematician, to produce the balance spring watch, known as the “King’s Watch” for Charles II in 1675. Tompion also served as clockmaker to the newly-built Royal Observatory in Greenwich designed by Sir Christopher Wren, which opened in 1696. Charles II commissioned him to make two weight-driven regulator clocks for the

Observatory, which he designed using Hooke’s long pendulum swinging in a small arc and Richard Towneley’s deadbeat escapement.

This resulted in the two highly accurate timepieces, which ran for a year between windings and enabled the astronomers to make accurate astronomical calculations.

Other collaborations saw Tompion working with the Dutch cabinetmaker Jasper Braem, who ran his business in a section of the Dial and Three Crowns. It is most likely he made some of Tompion’s more decorative marquetry longcase clock cases.

Other associates were

Edward Banger, who came up through the ranks of the business to become a partner in 1701, but was dismissed a few years later and George Graham, who became Tompion’s journeyman around 1707.

Graham eventually succeeded Tompion as Royal clockmaker and inherited Tompion’s business in 1713. Both Banger and Graham had married Tompion’s nieces.

The Pump Room in Bath still has a month-going longcase clock presented by Tompion to the city, where he was made a freeman in 1707.

Tompion died in 1713 and is buried at Westminster Abbey. His successor, George Graham, who died in 1751 is interred alongside him.

“Tompion’s name continues to be respected and admired today, not only through his original masterpieces but also through the Clockmakers’ Company’s commemoration of outstanding achievements in horology by the award of a gold medal, named the Tompion Medal,” Howard says: “His clocks are of such quality and durability that they have survived better than those of most of his rivals and are highly sought after by collectors and investors when they come up for sale.

“Antique clocks are also exempt from capital gains tax and so can be an attractive long term investment.”

■ The clocks illustrated can be seen at the London premises of Howard Walwyn Fine Antique Clocks, 123 Kensington Church Street, Kensington. when it was sold by Lord Mostyn to the British Museum where it remains on permanent display.

Each year a small ceremony is held when the clock is wound by a group of VIP guests.

The previously unrecorded clock by Thomas Tompion in an elegantly proportioned case. The “caddy top” hood has mounts supporting three brass ball finials while the 11-inch brass dial has cherub head spandrels, silvered Roman chapter ring, subsidiary seconds dial and a chamfered aperture to view the day of the month