Thomas Browne of Bristol

A Signed Lantern Clock, a Family Workshop and the Origins of the Bristol School

Lee Borrett

The Clock That Provided the Key

Among the surviving provincial lantern clocks of seventeenth-century England, few can have played such an important part in identifying the work of an early regional school as the remarkable clock illustrated here. Dating from around 1650, it carries on its front fret the wonderfully direct signature ‘Thomas Browne in Bristoll’. No other signed lantern clock by Thomas Browne is presently known.¹ ²

Its importance, however, extends far beyond its rarity. This single signature was eventually to provide the crucial evidence needed to establish the Bristol origin of a wider group of anonymous lantern clocks whose distinctive dial plates, engraving, frames and constructional features had attracted the attention of one of the foremost authorities on the subject, Sir George White. His investigation would ultimately lead him to identify and name what we now know as ‘the Bristol school of lantern clockmaking’.

The story did not end there. More than three decades after Sir George published the clock in English Lantern Clocks, new research into Thomas Browne and his surviving work was to produce an unexpected further development. Following publication of my article on the signed clock in Antiquarian Horology in June 2026,² Professor Jonathan Barry contacted me with evidence from his examination of the original Bristol civic records.³ Those records have significantly changed our understanding of Thomas Browne’s early career and revealed something particularly important: in 1637 the young Thomas was apprenticed as a smith to his own father, James Browne, and his wife Elizabeth.³

That discovery has opened a new chapter in the story of the earliest Bristol lantern clocks. It raises the possibility that their distinctive tradition did not begin with Thomas Browne alone, but developed from an earlier Browne family workshop, during the turbulent years surrounding the English Civil War. At the centre of that developing story remains the signed clock of c.1650 — the clock that first provided the key.

Fig. 1. The only known signed lantern clock by Thomas Browne of Bristol, c.1650. The signature ‘Thomas Browne in Bristoll’ appears on the front fret. Height 15.5 inches. It retains the tall architectural form associated with the earliest English lantern clocks. Private collection, photograph by Lee Borrett.

Thomas Browne of Bristol

Thomas Browne was born into a Bristol family whose involvement in metalworking can now be traced to his father, James Browne, a blacksmith. Until recently, however, the precise relationship between Thomas’s early training and his father’s workshop was far from clear. Evidence identified by Professor Jonathan Barry in the original Bristol civic records has now established that on 12 October 1637 Thomas was apprenticed as a smith to his father, James Browne, and his wife Elizabeth.³

Six years later the records reveal an equally significant development. In November 1643 Thomas was admitted to the Freedom of the City of Bristol by patrimony, describing himself not as a smith but as a watchmaker.³ This was only a few months after the Storming of Bristol on 26 July 1643, when Prince Rupert’s Royalist forces captured the city from its Parliamentarian garrison. Thomas was therefore emerging as an independent craftsman against the turbulent background of civil war and military occupation.

Fig. 2. Prince Rupert Royalist Commander of the army that stormed Bristol 26 July 1643 in the English Civil War: picture by Sir Anthony van Dyck Image by Alamy.com

The capture of Bristol was one of the most significant Royalist victories of the Civil War. As one of England’s principal ports and commercial centres, the city was of immense strategic importance, and the fighting brought considerable destruction and loss of life. Among the defenders remembered in accounts of the siege was Dorothy Hazard, whose actions alongside other women at the Frome Gate later became the subject of historical paintings. It was against this background of siege, upheaval and military occupation that Thomas Browne obtained his freedom in November 1643 and began establishing himself as a watchmaker in his own right.

Fig. 3. Mistress Dorothy Hazard and the Women of Bristol defending the Frome Gate against Prince Rupert, 1643, 1918 (oil on canvas). Alamy.com

By 1655 Browne is recorded in Corn Street, one of Bristol’s principal commercial streets, where subsequent records place him again in 1662, 1668 and 1670.³ Although the surviving documentary evidence is fragmentary, it shows that his workshop remained established in the city for much of his working life.

Fig. 4. Millerd’s Map of Bristol, 1673, showing the walled city. Thomas Browne is recorded as living and working in Corn Street, shown on the contemporary map as ‘Corne Street’. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Fig. 5. Detail from Millerd’s Map of Bristol, 1673, showing ‘Corne Street’, where Thomas Browne is recorded as living and working during the middle decades of the seventeenth century. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

His trade was also continued within the family: his son James was admitted to the Freedom of Bristol in 1679 as both the son and apprentice of Thomas Browne.³ One final record is particularly valuable in establishing the length of Thomas’s career. In August 1680 Jeremiah Newbrough was apprenticed to Thomas Browne and his wife Sarah, demonstrating that the workshop was still taking apprentices only a short time before Browne’s death later that year.³From the apprenticeship of Thomas to his father James in 1637 to the apprenticeship of Newbrough more than forty years later, the surviving records reveal a craft tradition extending through successive generations of the Browne family.

Sir George White and the Bristol School

Sir George White had been studying a small group of early lantern clocks displaying several unusual and recurring characteristics. Their distinctive engraved dial centres, narrow chapter rings and particular constructional features suggested that they shared a common regional origin, but the identity of their maker — or makers — remained uncertain. The discovery of a signed example was therefore of exceptional importance.¹

That clock was in the collection of the late Norman Langmaid in Washington, USA. Recognising its potential significance, Sir George travelled to Washington specifically to examine it. Langmaid was considering rebuilding the clock into a form that he believed would make it more saleable, and Sir George attempted to persuade him that such an important early clock should instead be preserved.¹ The circumstances also made recording the clock difficult. Langmaid was reluctant to allow Sir George to take the detailed photographs he wanted, and consequently the clock could not initially be documented as fully as he had hoped. Nevertheless, what Sir George had seen was crucial: on the front fret was the signature ‘Thomas Browne in Bristoll’. Here at last was documentary evidence, on the clock itself, connecting the distinctive group with Bristol.¹

Fig. 6. Detail of the front fret of the c.1650 lantern clock, bearing the engraved signature ‘Thomas Browne in Bristoll’. The survival of this signed fret provided Sir George White with the crucial evidence linking the distinctive group of related lantern clocks to Bristol. Private collection. Photograph by Lee Borrett.

A usable photograph of the clock was subsequently obtained by Dr Richard Mones, enabling Sir George to illustrate the signed example in his landmark book English Lantern Clocks, published in 1989. It appears there as Fig. V/22 on page 223.¹ By comparing the signed clock with the related unsigned examples, Sir George was able to establish their Bristol connection and identify a distinctive regional tradition of clockmaking. It was he who coined the description by which this important group has subsequently become known: ‘the Bristol school of lantern clockmaking’.¹

The Signed Clock

Although its signature provided the documentary key to the Bristol group, the clock itself is equally remarkable. Standing approximately 15.5 inches high, it retains the tall architectural form associated with the earliest English lantern clocks, but its appearance is immediately distinguished by a richly engraved copper dial plate. Around this is a particularly narrow brass chapter ring with Roman numerals and floating star half-hour markers, while the dial centre is decorated with scrolling foliage, garlands and Tudor roses. Beneath XII is the small, almost whimsical mask that became one of the most recognisable features associated with this group of Bristol clocks.¹ The clock retains its original alarm disc and long-tailed iron hand.

Fig. 7. Showing an angled view of Thomas Browne's only known signed lantern clock. The top and bottom plates are slotted into the integral pillars, with finials and acorn feet. Showing a side view of Thomas Browne's signed lantern clock. The side doors are believed to be original. Private collection. Photograph by Lee Borrett.

Fig. 8. A close-up of the beautifully engraved copper dial centre, narrow brass chapter ring with floating star half-hour markers, and the characteristic small mask beneath XII. Private collection. Photograph by Lee Borrett.

The clock’s frame is constructed around square-based integral corner pillars, with the acorn feet and finials cast as part of each pillar, while the top and bottom plates locate into the frame. These details are particularly significant because, when compared with other clocks now associated with the Browne workshop, they help reveal a developing Bristol method of construction rather than simply a shared style of dial engraving.¹

Fig. 9. Showing a side view of the Thomas Browne movement which is constructed around square-based integral corner pillars, with the acorn feet and finials cast as part of each pillar. Private collection. Photograph by Lee Borrett.

One of the most distinctive details is easily overlooked. The dial and chapter ring are secured to the front movement bar by a long upper lug and tapered pin, while other recurring workshop characteristics include small brass collets on the wheel arbors and a notably slim, waisted hammer spring. None of these features, considered individually, proves an attribution; taken together, however, their recurrence across related clocks provides a valuable body of comparative evidence.¹

Fig. 10. Movement detail of the signed Thomas Browne lantern clock, showing the long upper lug and tapered pin securing the dial and chapter ring to the front movement bar, together with the characteristic slim, waisted hammer spring. These constructional features recur among clocks associated with the Bristol School. Private collection. Photograph by Lee Borrett.

An Early Conversion to Pendulum Control

Although the clock was originally made as a balance-controlled verge lantern clock, its movement was subsequently altered to take advantage of the revolution in timekeeping brought about by the pendulum. The original verge arrangement was replaced by an anchor escapement, allowing the clock to operate with a pendulum and considerably improving its timekeeping.⁴

Of particular interest is the way this conversion was carried out. The going train was adapted to incorporate Huygens’ endless-rope maintaining-power system, enabling the clock to continue running while it was being wound. The original alarm work was also removed as part of the alterations.⁴

The conversion appears to be an early one and, importantly, much of the original movement survives beneath these later modifications. Its early wheelwork, tapered arbors and characteristic movement construction remain intact, allowing the clock to provide valuable evidence not only for Thomas Browne’s workshop practice but also for the way in which an earlier lantern clock could be adapted as improved methods of timekeeping became available.⁴

Fig. 11. Movement top-plate of the signed Thomas Browne lantern clock, showing its early conversion to anchor escapement. These alterations were both common and entirely expected as owners sought to improve timekeeping following the introduction of the pendulum. Private collection. Photograph by Lee Borrett.

A Developing Bristol Style

The signed clock of c.1650 does not stand alone. When it is compared with a small number of earlier lantern clocks displaying closely related characteristics, it becomes possible to trace what appears to be a developing Bristol style. Changes can be seen in both the materials and construction of these clocks, while several distinctive features recur with remarkable consistency.¹

One particularly important example, dating from around 1645 and attributed to Thomas Browne, appears to occupy an intermediate position in this developing sequence. Like the later signed clock, it has an engraved copper dial centre, decorated with scrolling foliage and Tudor roses, together with the characteristic small mask beneath XII and a narrow brass chapter ring. Its frame, however, retains the earlier rounded form of integral corner pillar, rather than the square-based pillars found on the signed clock.¹

Fig. 12. Lantern clock, c.1645, attributed to Thomas Browne of Bristol. Its engraved copper dial and characteristic Bristol details closely relate it to the later signed clock, while its rounded integral corner pillars represent the earlier form of construction. Private collection, photograph by David Norris.

An important chronological point is provided by another clock in the group, dated 1649 and attributed to Thomas Browne. Although not illustrated here, this published example combines an engraved copper dial with square-based integral corner pillars, demonstrating that this later form of frame construction was already in use by 1649.¹ The dated clock therefore provides a particularly useful comparison when considering the probable date of around 1650 assigned to the signed Thomas Browne clock.

Across these clocks several other characteristics recur: narrow chapter rings with floating star half-hour markers; engraved dial centres incorporating garlands and Tudor roses; the small mask beneath XII; long upper dial-fixing lugs; slim waisted hammer springs; small brass collets; and movement bars with characteristically straight arms. None of these features, considered individually, can securely identify a maker. Their repeated appearance in combination, however, provides a persuasive basis for recognising a closely related Bristol group.¹

James Browne and the Civil War Clock

The sequence can be taken back still further. An extraordinary lantern clock dating from around 1642, during the opening years of the English Civil War, displays many of the characteristics subsequently associated with the Bristol group. Unlike the later examples, however, it has a brass rather than copper dial plate, while its frame retains the earlier rounded form of integral corner pillar. Its extremely narrow chapter ring, engraved dial decoration and small mask beneath XII nevertheless establish a striking visual and constructional relationship with the clocks that followed.

When I first studied this clock, the available evidence led me to attribute it to Thomas Browne, and I published it as such in Clocks in May 2021.⁵ At that time, however, the crucial documentary evidence concerning Thomas’s apprenticeship was not known. Professor Jonathan Barry’s subsequent examination of the original Bristol civic records has materially changed the picture.³

Those records establish that on 12 October 1637 Thomas was apprenticed as a smith to his father, James Browne, and James’s wife Elizabeth.³ If the Civil War clock dates, as its construction suggests, from around 1642, Thomas would therefore still have been serving within his father’s workshop when it was made. He did not obtain the Freedom of Bristol until November 1643, when he described himself as a watchmaker.³

This raises an important possibility. Rather than representing the earliest independent work of Thomas Browne, the c.1642 clock may more plausibly have originated in the workshop of James Browne, with the young Thomas working there as his apprentice. If this interpretation is correct, the clock takes the beginnings of the Bristol tradition back a generation and suggests that at least some of the characteristics later associated with Thomas were already developing within the Browne family workshop.³

Fig. 13. Civil War lantern clock, c.1642, now thought most likely to have originated in the workshop of James Browne of Bristol, while his son Thomas was serving his apprenticeship. Its brass dial plate and rounded integral corner pillars represent an earlier stage in the development of the Bristol group. Private collection. Photograph by Lee Borrett.

A Browne Family Workshop

Viewed together, the three surviving clocks of c.1642, c.1645 and c.1650 suggest a particularly interesting development. The earliest has a brass dial and rounded integral pillars; the c.1645 clock retains the rounded pillars but introduces the engraved copper dial that became such a distinctive feature of the group; and by the dated 1649 example, square-based integral pillars had appeared alongside the copper dial, a combination also found on the signed Thomas Browne clock of c.1650.¹

This sequence should not be interpreted as a rigid progression in which one constructional form immediately replaced another. Surviving clocks are too few for such certainty. Nevertheless, when their shared engraving, dial features and movement construction are considered alongside Professor Jonathan Barry’s documentary evidence, a persuasive picture begins to emerge.³ The Bristol style appears to have developed over a period of years rather than originating fully formed with the signed Thomas Browne clock.

The apprenticeship record of 1637 is particularly significant in this respect. Thomas did not learn his craft in isolation: he was working within the household and workshop of his father, James Browne.³ If the attribution of the c.1642 clock to James’s workshop is correct, it becomes possible to see the clocks not simply as the work of two separate craftsmen, but as evidence of a family workshop tradition passing from father to son.

Fig. 14. Two remarkable early Bristol lantern clocks. Left: the only known signed lantern clock by Thomas Browne, c.1650, with its engraved copper dial and square-based integral pillars. Right: the earlier Civil War lantern clock, c.1642, with brass dial and rounded integral pillars, now thought most likely to have originated in the workshop of Thomas’s father, James Browne. Together, these clocks may represent successive generations of the Browne family workshop during the formative years of the Bristol School. Private collection, photographs by Lee Borrett.

Seen in this context, Sir George White’s identification of the Bristol School acquires an additional dimension. His pioneering work established the regional group through comparison with the signed Thomas Browne clock; the newly identified archival evidence now raises the possibility that the origins of that distinctive tradition extend backwards into the workshop of Thomas’s father. What began as the search for the maker of a group of anonymous lantern clocks may therefore reveal something more intimate: the development of a provincial clockmaking tradition within a seventeenth-century Bristol family.¹ ³

Rethinking the Origins of the Bristol School

The term ‘Bristol School’, coined by Sir George White, remains an appropriate description for this distinctive group of early lantern clocks. What the new evidence may change is not the identity of the group, but our understanding of where its tradition began.¹ ³

Sir George’s research understandably centred upon Thomas Browne because the surviving signed clock provided the firm documentary link with Bristol. The evidence now available suggests that the story may have begun earlier. Thomas’s apprenticeship to his father places him within James Browne’s workshop from 1637, while the c.1642 Civil War clock appears to carry several of the constructional and decorative characteristics subsequently encountered in clocks attributed to Thomas.³

It would be unwise to regard every clock sharing these characteristics as necessarily the work of James or Thomas Browne. Other craftsmen may have contributed to what became a recognisable regional tradition, and much remains to be discovered about clockmaking in Bristol during these early decades. Nevertheless, the surviving clocks and documentary evidence together suggest that the Browne family workshop occupied an important place in the formative years of the Bristol School.

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the evidence is therefore the continuity it suggests. From James Browne’s workshop during the Civil War years, through Thomas’s emergence as a watchmaker in 1643 and the clocks attributed to him during the following decade, a distinctive group of characteristics can be followed towards the signed clock of c.1650. That clock remains the essential fixed point in the story: the one surviving object bearing the name ‘Thomas Browne in Bristoll’ and the clock that allowed Sir George White to begin reconstructing the history of the Bristol School.¹

The Clock That Still Holds the Key

More than three and a half centuries after it was made, the signed Thomas Browne lantern clock remains at the centre of this story. Its survival allowed Sir George White to connect a distinctive group of early clocks with Bristol and to recognise what he termed the ‘Bristol school of lantern clockmaking’.¹ Today, it remains the fixed point against which the emerging evidence for the Browne family workshop can be considered.

Professor Jonathan Barry’s discovery that Thomas was apprenticed to his father James in 1637 has added an important new dimension to that story.³ It raises the possibility that the roots of the Bristol tradition extend back beyond Thomas’s independent career and into the family workshop in which he learned his craft.

Much remains to be discovered. A newly identified document, an unrecognised constructional detail or another surviving clock may yet alter the picture again. For the present, however, the small inscription engraved on the front fret of one remarkable clock — ‘Thomas Browne in Bristoll’ — continues to provide the essential link between the surviving objects and the craftsmen who made them. What began with Sir George White’s recognition of that signature has now developed into a wider story of James and Thomas Browne, a family workshop, and the formative years of the Bristol School.¹ ³

Acknowledgements

I am particularly grateful to Professor Jonathan Barry for generously sharing the results of his research into the original Bristol civic records, which has provided important new evidence concerning James and Thomas Browne and prompted the reconsideration of the earliest clock discussed in this article. My thanks are also due to Dr John A. Robey for his advice concerning the technical aspects and early conversion of the signed Thomas Browne clock, and to my clock friend Martin Gould for his continued interest, encouragement and support during my research. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the pioneering work of Sir George White, whose investigation of the signed Thomas Browne clock and related Bristol examples established the foundations upon which the present study has been built.

References

1. George White, English Lantern Clocks(Antique Collectors’ Club, 1989), pp. 222–226; the signed Thomas Browne lantern clock is illustrated as Fig. V/22, p. 223.

2. Lee Borrett, ‘Thomas Browne’s only signed lantern clock and the origin of the Bristol School’, Antiquarian Horology, Vol. 47, No. 2 (June 2026), pp. 246–253.

3. Jonathan Barry, personal correspondence with the author, June 2026, drawing upon his examination of the original Bristol civic records and archival sources.

4. John A. Robey, ‘Lantern Clock Conversions – A Technical Survey’, Antiquarian Horology, Vol. 46, No. 1 (March 2025), pp. 48–68.

5. Lee Borrett, ‘A Civil War Lantern Clock Attributed to Thomas Browne of Bristol’, Clocks, May 2021, pp. 9–13