It was cheap, well that's my excuse. Can't find anything about the maker. There was a King in Yarmouth IoW in the 1830s which isn't far away. A 19thC wall clock, the square, ebonised hood on a backplate, incorporating a glazed window; the
Has a certain something I thought, wouldn't normally go for one this style and this late but it just looked right, and it is all done. Even found somewhere to hang it!
It is an odd one, that. The use of a verge so late, the alarm, the style applied to a hooded wall clock. Still, it is interesting and it is very distinctive and you won’t find another any rime soon!
Great looking clock. Nice, clean, refined Recency clock. The verge is the alarm as it has an anchor with longer pendulum. I think that clock is in my watch list. Glad you won. So if you ever want to unload it, I'm interested Meanwhile, enjoy the simple beauty, and the ticking!
Yes the crown wheel you see is for the alarm, funnily enough I have a part movement of a posted frame alarm where I worked out how the crownwheel and verge were mounted and this is exactly how I imagined it. I'm interested to see how original the case turns out to be. I'm on holiday now so can pick it up next week. I would like to find some dates for when the guy was in Newport. It wasn't in the budget, I'm supposed to be spending money on restoring clocks at the moment, but if it is as good as it looks it can stay, will just delay the restoration schedule a bit (and I might have to sell a few more bits on ebay!)
Very nice and I can see why you went for it Nick. I can't imagine there would be many clockmakers on the IoW but from a quick look through a long list of Kings in Loomes it seems there is only one, King IoW 1854, probably Thomas.
Ah you did better than me, my books are not as up to date. I had wondered about Thomas, I only found Christian in Yarmouth 1836 but that might be Norfolk. 1854 is rather later than I would have thought for this, I think it is 1820/30 sort of look. The method of fixing the dial makes me think of early dial clocks, I assume it is for the servants but it looks quite posh doesn't it? I need to see the case to work out how original that is but it looks encouraging. BTW, given where I live I see quite a few IoW longcase, there was a very prolific maker there in the 18th century and he must have had apprentices which would have built up a bit of a hotspot. He was in Newport too. The IoW was quite a posh place later too with Osborne House and Queen Victoria making it a favourite retreat. He didn't die till 1861 so I don't think we can blame the black on Victoria's extended period of mourning.
Picked it up today, two hours drive each way. Good news is the case looks original, so it was a bargain. Bad news is they swore blind that I had everything in the pictures even though I was convinced I was missing a weight. Now I am home I check the pictures and I am indeed missing a weight, and the rope!
I got an email saying I had everything in the pictures so I rang them up and we had words. They are posting the rest.
awesome! other than that hiccup, is it as nice as it appears in the pics? do you think the finish is original?
The case has been refinished, but I have no reason to believe it wasn't originally black. I took it to my friend the clockmaker yesterday who suggested it to me and he says it is all original, which was my view without my glasses!
Ha ha... Usually people put on rose colored glasses when they want the view to match their desire. I guess as we get older (myself included), we can just take off our glasses for the same effect! Tom
I don't need glasses to drive, but I struggle to see detail without them. When I drive somewhere I often forget to put them on when I arrive. Even without glasses I could see a weight was missing! The black finish is recent, and was wrapped in something before fully hardened so need to sort that on the front top moulding, but I think it is right. The gold isn't well done but ok. The glass is old, the case original. The pendulum is not from this clock I'm sure as it has been run on rope since being restored and this pendulum has not been used for years. However that's not a difficult fix. Everything else is fine, and now I will get the little lead counterweight I can use it as a guide for the style of alarm weights. Unlike most of my clocks it has arrived in fully restored condition so it really was a bargain. I'm currently reducing my collection but I think this will stay.
You love black cases, so it was always going to be, but I agree, this just has a certain touch of class.
Some pics. There is a threaded hole on the front plate not in use. I think this was the original bellstand. I don't know why it was moved. However there is no steady pin hole, perhaps it was a change of mind during build? Hard to decide if the case has always been black, I think it probably has. There seems to be evidence of old gesso.
I've found an auction listing for a pocket watch signed Thomas King of Newport IoW hallmarked London 1813. That sounds much more encouraging. lot 357 page 54 Byrnes Auctioneers
I’ve never seen anyone engrave their seatboard screws. The initials TK on them is nice attention to detail!
It's a great detail, I love it. Settles the name too. The watch signature is a much closer date too I think this is 1820-1830 sort of period.
One good thing about smaller clocks such as this, is marriages and other modifications are not as much of an issue (opposed to larger clocks such as longcase and Vienna Regulators). I didn't wear glasses until I was 48. Now, I leave them on all the time. I actually wear safety glasses with full side shields most of the time. I can't read my mobile screen at all without my glasses. With them 20/20 , or maybe a tiny bit better. They are bifocals so I now trip over small steps if I'm not careful. They are also transitions, so I have sunglasses built in. I spent about a grand on 2 pair on industrial glasses over the last couple years, but my eyes are worth it. Some stuff is still too small, and my eyes definitely grew dependent on my glasses as my sight without them seems to have deteriorated.
I was told by the optician when I had my eyes tested at 38 he would see me in two years and sort out my glasses. When I asked if my eyesight was that bad he said no everybody has reading glasses at 40. Well I made it until I was 56 but now I'm getting blind as a bat. The alarm has a new home, though it pinched the spot from a lantern alarm 90 odd years senior. The difference is this space isn't over a radiator, the lantern clock will go to a new position just clipping the end of one. The door can't open wide enough to clout it.
