Early Clocks | Lee Borrett
About Lee Borrett
I am a collector, researcher and writer with a long-standing interest in early English clocks and sundials, particularly lantern clocks, early 30-hour longcase clocks, religiously inscribed dials and the work of important provincial clockmakers.
Over many years I have handled, studied and photographed a wide range of early clocks, both through my own collection and through contact with other horologists and private collectors. My particular interests include the early Bristol School of lantern clockmaking, the Browne family of Bristol, the Wigton School of clockmakers, and rare early clocks that retain strong links with their original historical setting or ownership.
One particularly important area of my research concerns the origins of the Bristol School of lantern clockmaking and the remarkable Browne family workshop. Recent archival discoveries by Professor Jonathan Barry, considered alongside the surviving clocks and their distinctive constructional features, have provided valuable new insights into the possible development of this early provincial tradition. The evidence now suggests that the Bristol School may have originated within the workshop of James Browne, with his son Thomas subsequently developing and continuing the family clockmaking tradition.
I have always believed that an early clock becomes even more interesting when its story can be placed alongside the people, places and events of the period in which it was made. For that reason, Early Clocks combines detailed photographs of individual clocks with historical material, contemporary paintings and documentary research wherever possible.
My research into early English clockmaking has been published in the Journal of the Antiquarian Horological Society and in Clocks magazine. I continue to research and update the articles on this website as new evidence becomes available.
I am particularly interested in early English lantern clocks, sundials, religiously inscribed clocks and other historically important timepieces. If you own a clock or sundial that you believe may be of historical interest, or if you have information relating to one of the makers featured on this website, I would be very pleased to hear from you.
I hope you will find Early Clocks interesting and enjoy listening to the accompanying Gregorian chant.
A Clock
With a Story
A fine seventeenth-century lantern clock with a wonderfully historic background story. Made in 1692 by Richard Savage of Much Wenlock. The clock retains its original verge escapement and is of pleasing proportions, standing approximately 15 inches high. Private collection. photographed by Lee Borrett.
What makes this clock particularly remarkable is its documented connection with the marriage of Edward Pardoe and Millborough Brown at Yarpole Church in Herefordshire on 30 April 1692. It is exceptionally rare for a seventeenth-century lantern clock to retain such a specific connection with its original date, place and ownership, making this an especially evocative survivor from the period.
Yarpole Church in Herefordshire, where Edward Pardoe and Millborough Brown were married on 30 April 1692. Image/source: British History Online. www.british-history.ac.uk
Richard Savage
Richard Savage was born at Much Wenlock, Shropshire, on 2 August 1663, the son of William and Joan Savage. He married Elizabeth Price of Bridgnorth in 1685/86 and was working at Much Wenlock during the period in which this clock was made. Their children included William, born on 15 September 1687, and Thomas, born on 17 August 1690. Savage later moved to Shrewsbury, probably during the later 1690s, where his sons entered the family trade. William was apprenticed to him in 1700 and Thomas followed a few years later. Elizabeth died in March 1722, and Richard subsequently married Margaret Jones in October 1726. He died in Shrewsbury in 1728. Savage became an important early domestic clockmaker associated with Shropshire, and a number of his surviving lantern clocks are unusually dated or inscribed for their original owners.
The Salem
Witch Trials, 1692
Remarkably, at almost exactly the same time as this joyous wedding celebration was taking place in the peaceful Herefordshire countryside, across the Atlantic in Salem, Massachusetts, the infamous witchcraft accusations and examinations that would lead to the world-famous Salem Witch Trials were already underway. The extraordinary contrast between these two events, unfolding on opposite sides of the Atlantic in the spring of 1692, provides a fascinating reminder of the very different lives and experiences of people living during the same remarkable period of history.
Salem Witch Trials 1692. A women believed to be Mary Walcott protests as one of her accusers, a young girl, appears to have convulsions. A small group of women were the source of accusations, testimony, and dramatic demonstrations. Image. Shutterstock.com
Please Click here to read my fully illustrated article about this remarkable Richard Savage lantern clock and its fascinating historical background.
Thank you for visiting Early Clocks.
Lee Borrett