Early Clocks | Lee Borrett
The
Christ's Hospital
Dining Hall
Clock
A
Wonderfully historical
and exceptionally
original early Arts
and Crafts wall clock.
Made of massive and
heavy proportions, the
clock is of the highest
quality and has a
and most interesting
provenance.
The
Christ's Hospital
Dining Hall Clock
1879
The Christ's Hospital dining hall, Hertford, 1879. Francis M. Page, M.A., Ph.D.
Introduction
The wonderfully rare Christ’s Hospital dining hall clock shown here survives in fabulous original condition and is an historically important survivor from this prestigious school. Made specifically for Christ’s Hospital, Hertford, where it served generations of pupils from 1879, this massive mid-Victorian wall clock possesses a remarkable and unusually well-illustrated provenance. Its story connects its maker with the Great Clock of Westminster and its benefactor with P&O and, remarkably, the young Barnes Wallis, who would later become famous for the Bouncing Bomb of the Second World War. It is this fascinating combination of horology, school history and remarkable provenance that is revealed below.
The Clockmaker
James Brock, 1826-1893
A highly respected clock, watch and chronometer maker, James Brock was foreman in the workshops of E. J. Dent and played an important part in the construction of the Great Clock of Westminster. Brock worked closely with Edmund Beckett Denison, whose innovative horological ideas were fundamental to the development of the great parliamentary clock. In 1859, after years of construction, testing and refinement, the clock was installed and put into service in the newly completed tower at the Palace of Westminster.
Horse bus in front of Big Ben, Westminster, London, late 19th century. Alamy.com
Work began on the clock in 1852 after an 8-year dispute with the Royal Clockmaker Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy (1780-1854) who lost the contract, largely because he refused to submit plans and estimates for the contract until 2 years after it was put out to tender by the Government of the day.
Above. In 1859, after years of construction, testing and refinement, the Great Clock of Westminster was installed and brought into service in the famous clock tower at the Palace of Westminster. The name ‘Big Ben’ properly refers to the Great Bell within the tower. Alamy.com
Below. An old Newspaper advert by E. Dent & Co., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Great Clock was developed to specifications laid down by the Astronomer Royal, George Biddell Airy (1801–1892), with Edmund Beckett Denison taking a leading role in the design of its mechanism and escapement. The clock was constructed by Dent’s, with James Brock, as foreman of the workshop, closely involved in its manufacture. Brock later left Dent’s direct employment and established himself independently in the Portman Square area, where he subsequently received the commission from B. A. Willcox for the Christ’s Hospital clock illustrated here.
Left. Image of Edward John Dent, Clockmaker. Edward John Dent, son of John and Elizabeth Dent, was born in London on 19 August 1790. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Brock died in 1893 at the age of 67. Writing in the Horologist Magazine Lord Grimthorpe said of him: “I am sorry to say – James Brock is dead. He was an excellent and charming man who built a sufficient factory in a stable-yard in that region where we made the Westminster clock and sundry other large ones.”
Christ's Hospital
Edward Beckett Denison with The Great Westminster clock. Image by Alamy.com. James Brock had worked closely with Edward Beckett Denison throughout his career.
Another important surviving example of James Brock’s work is preserved in the British Museum, which holds a fine weight-driven regulator dating from around 1875–1885. Other highly regarded regulators by Brock also survive, demonstrating the reputation he established as a maker of precision clocks.
The Clock's Benefactor
B.A. Willcox Esq.(1815-1901)
B. A. Willcox was a Governor and Almoner of Christ’s Hospital and devoted much of his life to supporting the institution. At the time this clock was presented in 1879, Christ’s Hospital maintained its historic London establishment together with the school at Hertford; the purpose-built Horsham school would not be established until the closing years of the nineteenth century.
Born in the year of the Battle of Waterloo, B.A. Willcox was the son of a pioneering nineteenth century businessman, Brodie McGhie Willcox, a co-founder of the P&O shipping line. Listed as a Governor and Almoner, the clock’s benefactor dedicated much of his life to Christ’s Hospital and its 3 schools located then in London, Hertford and Horsham in Sussex. Interestingly, Willcox lived in Portman Square – a brief stroll from Brock’s workshop. It makes sense to me that when he wanted to commission a clock for the school, he would have chosen a clockmaker with a reputation for making high-quality precise movements. He wouldn’t have had far to walk. Dying in 1901, Willcox was buried next to his father in Highgate Cemetery.
Family grave of Brodie McGhie Willcox in Highgate Cemetery, where B.A.Willcox is buried. Own work by Simon Edwards Esq
In his will B. A. Willcox left a bequest providing prizes for pupils of Christ’s Hospital. Remarkably, one recipient was the young Barnes Neville Wallis, who won the Willcox Prize for Science in 1903 while a pupil at the school. Wallis left Christ’s Hospital in 1904 and went on to become one of Britain’s most celebrated engineers and inventors. Knighted in later life, Sir Barnes Wallis is best remembered for developing the famous Bouncing Bomb used by the RAF during Operation Chastise against the Ruhr dams in May 1943.
So there it is: Benefactor, the Great Clock of Westminster, and the Bouncing Bomb – all linked by a wall clock!
Photograph of Barnes Wallis in RNV uniform Datecirca 1914.
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Christ's Hospital
of
The Brief History
King Edward VI, founder of Christ's Hospital. Attributed to William Scrots (active 1537-1553) [1], Public domain, via Wikimedia Common
Christ’s Hospital, traditionally known as the Bluecoat School because of the pupils’ distinctive uniform, was founded in London in 1552 following the vision of the young King Edward VI and received its first Royal Charter from him in 1553. Its foundation formed part of an attempt to provide education and relief for poor and disadvantaged children at a time of considerable social change following the dissolution of the monasteries.
Christ's Hospital, London. William Henry Toms, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The London school occupied a site at Newgate for 350 years until it was demolished to make way for the capital’s main G.P.O. building.
From the early eighteenth century girls were increasingly educated at Hertford, and by the beginning of the twentieth century Hertford had become the girls’ school. In the 1890s Christ’s Hospital purchased approximately 1,200 acres near Horsham in Sussex from the Aylesbury Dairy Company for the construction of a new school. The foundation stone was laid on 23 October 1897 by Edward, Prince of Wales — the future King Edward VII — acting on behalf of Queen Victoria. The date was chosen because it was the anniversary of the birth of the school’s founder, Edward VI.
In 1902 the boys were transferred from London and Hertford to the new Horsham establishment, while Hertford subsequently became the girls’ school. The Hertford school finally closed in 1985, when its pupils transferred to Horsham and Christ’s Hospital again became co-educational.
The
Clocks Provenance
Victorian Photograph of Hertford Christ's Hospital with the photographer standing just outside the fron gates to the school, c1879. Photograph courtesy of Christ's Hospital.
Having been made solely for the purpose of serving Hertford Christ's Hospital and its pupils from 1879 – the giant mid-Victorian clock has a wonderfully illustrated provenance. Christ’s Hospital, Hertford, closed in 1985. The discovery of several rare Victorian and Edwardian photographs showing the clock in situ provides exceptional documentary evidence for its long association with the school. The earliest surviving photographs appear to date from the late nineteenth century, while later images from around 1906, 1953 and finally 1985 show the clock continuing to occupy its place within the Dining Hall for generation after generation of pupils.
Above. Victorian Photograph, c1879. Showing the clock in situ, hanging in the Dining Hall of Christ's Hospital, Hertford. Photograph courtesy of Christ's Hospital.
Below. Victorian Photograph, c1879. Showing the clock in situ, and taken about 45 minutes after the above photograph. The photographer has taken this photograph in a different position in order to get the whole clock in view. Photograph courtesy of Christ's Hospital.
Below. Edwardian Photograph, c1906. Showing the clock in situ, on the opposite wall in the re-furnished Dining Hall of Christ's Hospital, Hertford. New additions to the Hall came from the London Christ's Hospital after its closure in 1902. Photograph courtesy of Christ's Hospital.
The Victorian photographs show a comparatively plain Dining Hall, whereas the Edwardian images of around 1906 reveal a considerably enriched interior, with decorative gasoliers suspended from the ceiling and a distinctive heraldic frieze and stylised corbels around the walls. Some of these architectural features had been salvaged from the old London Christ’s Hospital following its closure and demolition, giving the Hertford Dining Hall a tangible connection with the school’s historic London home.
Below. Edwardian Photograph, c1906. Showing a close-up of the clock in situ in the re-furnished Hertford Dining Hall. Photograph courtesy of Christ's Hospital.
Below. Showing a copy of The illustrated London News, November the 7th, 1953. This article shows Christ's Hospital , Hertford celebrating 400 years old this year (in 1953). The clock can be seen in the Dining Hall bottom left of the article. Image courtesy of Christ's Hospital.
Below. Showing the clock hanging in the Dining Hall in 1985 and just before the Hertford School closed with the pupils moving to the Hersham branch of the famous school. Image courtesy of Phyllis Hoffman, a former pupil of Christ's Hospital Hertford.
When the Hertford school closed in 1985, the Willcox clock was removed from the Dining Hall and subsequently sold by Christ’s Hospital. I purchased the clock in October 2013 from a respected antique clock dealer in the southwest of England. Neither the dealer nor I was then aware of its remarkable true identity. It was only after I began researching the clock that its fascinating provenance gradually started to unfold, eventually allowing this important piece of Christ’s Hospital history to be identified once again.
The Clock
The clock itself is a massive and wonderfully impressive mid-Victorian wall clock. Its large, beautifully constructed brass-and-iron movement is housed within an exceptionally substantial solid-oak case. Both movement and case survive in superb original condition, while the bold architectural design of the case possesses an early Arts and Crafts character that gives the clock tremendous presence.
A
Wonderfully historical
and exceptionally
original early Arts
and Crafts wall clock.
Made of massive and
heavy proportions, the
clock is of the highest
quality and has a
and most interesting
provenance.
Dining Hall
Clock
Christ's Hospital
The
The Dial
The painted iron dial measures 24 inches in diameter and has bold Roman numerals surrounded by a black minute ring. It is signed ‘Brock, 64 Portman Sq., London’ and bears the serial number 1732. Behind the glass and gilded sighting ring are the original blued-steel hands, the unusual shape of the hour hand echoing the pointed form of the door and lower section of the case.
The Movement
The substantial eight-day movement is of exceptionally high quality and incorporates a deadbeat escapement, maintaining power, stop-work to the winding, counterpoising to the motion work and passing strike on a large bell. The weight line passes above the movement and over a winding barrel, allowing the brass-cased driving weight to descend at the side of the clock clear of the tubular brass pendulum bob and wooden rod. The pendulum itself is suspended from the backboard.
Above. The Movement of 8-day duration is of the highest specification, with a deadbeat escapement, maintaining power, stop work to the winding, counterpoising to the motion work and passing strike on a large bell. Photographed by Lee Borrett
The Case
The original case is constructed from exceptionally heavy, thickly cut oak and measures approximately 33 inches wide by 56 inches high. Beneath the dial, a distinctive chevron-shaped door still retains its original gilded inscription recording that the clock was presented by B. A. Willcox, Governor and Almoner of Christ’s Hospital, in 1879. This surviving inscription provides a remarkable direct link between the clock, its benefactor and the school for which it was specifically made.
Above. Below the dial a chevron-shaped door still bears the original gilded statement: that the clock was gifted by B.A. Willcox, a Governor & Almoner (of Christ’s Hospital) in 1879. Photographed by Lee Borrett
Below. The weight line passes above the movement over a winding barrel to keep the brass-cased weight (half hidden in the photograph) to the side and clear of a tubular brass bob and its wooden rod. The pendulum itself its hung from the backboard. Photographed by Lee Borrett
Summary
This wonderfully original and historically important wall clock is far more than an impressive example of late nineteenth-century English clockmaking. Commissioned specifically for Christ’s Hospital, Hertford, in 1879, it survives with an exceptional documented provenance linking its maker, James Brock, with the Great Clock of Westminster and its benefactor, B. A. Willcox, with one of the great commercial enterprises of Victorian Britain. Remarkably, the Willcox name also provides another fascinating connection through the young Barnes Wallis, who won the Willcox Prize for Science at Christ’s Hospital in 1903 before going on to become one of Britain’s most celebrated engineers.
The series of historic photographs showing the clock hanging in the Hertford Dining Hall gives it something particularly precious: we can actually see this very clock occupying the room for which it was made and looking down upon generations of Christ’s Hospital pupils. From Victorian schoolchildren through the Edwardian period and well into the twentieth century, it remained part of the daily rhythm of life at Hertford until the school finally closed in 1985.
When I purchased the clock in 2013, none of this extraordinary history was known to me. To have gradually rediscovered its identity, reunited the surviving evidence and placed its story back on record has therefore been one of the most rewarding aspects of owning it. More than a century after B. A. Willcox presented it to Christ’s Hospital, the original dial, movement, case and gilded dedication survive as a tangible record of the school, the people connected with it and the remarkable age in which the clock was made.
For me, this is exactly what makes the study of old clocks so fascinating. Sometimes the mechanism tells only part of the story; hidden behind it may be the lives of the maker, the benefactor and generations of people who once looked up at its dial to see the time. In the case of the Christ’s Hospital Dining Hall Clock, that lost story has fortunately been found again.
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my sincere thanks to Mike Barford and the team at the Christ’s Hospital Museum in Horsham, who have been exceptionally kind and helpful in researching both the clock and B. A. Willcox. I am particularly grateful for the historic Victorian and Edwardian photographs they supplied and for permission to reproduce these, together with other photographs, prints, documents and information relating to Christ’s Hospital and the clock’s benefactor. I would also like to thank Christ’s Hospital for generously providing original spare sections of frieze and finials, which I have used in displaying the clock. I am truly grateful for all their assistance.
I would also like to thank Phyllis Hoffman, a former pupil of Christ’s Hospital, Hertford, for kindly supplying and allowing me to reproduce her colour photograph showing the Dining Hall and clock shortly before the school closed in 1985.
Finally, I would like to thank Brian Wellings for his expert help, advice and encouragement during my research into this remarkable clock and its history.