Collecting
Antique Clocks A Beginner's Guide to
Lantern Clocks
3. Long pendulum lantern
clocks with anchor escapement, from about 1680
to about 1780.
Lantern clocks began to be
made with the improved, 'long' pendulum, sometimes
called a 'Royal' pendulum, from about 1680,
though not all lantern clocks had this and some
were still made with the older types of escapement.
These long pendulum lantern clocks had an anchor
escapement, the same as in a longcase clock.
In London in particular, which was always the
major centre of lantern clock making, lantern
clocks continued to be made with the verge pendulum,
and here the long pendulum was never popular
in this type of clock at the time of their making.
Those with an anchor escapement tend to be ones
which have been converted to anchor a generation
or so later. The continuing preference for the
verge pendulum there may have been because the
short pendulum version was to some degree portable,
and was certainly less tricky to set going by
an inexperienced owner.
Click for closer view
In some provincial areas the
making of lantern clock had barely begun by
the late 1600s (when in London this type was
approaching extinction) and longcase clocks
were made there from that same time. So that
clockmakers in some of these counties (Lancashire
e.g.) settled for the one type of escapement,
which they could use for all their weight-driven
clocks, both lantern and longcase. These makers
therefore made their lantern clocks with long
pendulum and anchor escapement just like their
longcase clocks. Clocks made originally with
long pendulum are known as having 'original
anchor escapement' - as opposed to clocks modified
from earlier forms which are said to have been
'converted to anchor escapement'.
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Lantern clock of about 1680 by Richard Baker
of London. Click for closer view. |
4.
Movement of the Richard Baker lantern clock,
an old conversion to anchor escapement.
The gap between the trains shows it was
made originally as a centre verge pendulum.
Click for closer view. |
It may be a relief to know
that lantern clocks made originally with anchor
escapement, were not converted to any other
form!
Lantern clocks ceased to be
made in London by about 1710, other than in
special forms such as Turkish Market clocks,
which type were always made with verge pendulum
and were rarely made anywhere other than in
London, where they continued to be made until
the 1780s. Naturally a Turkish Market clock
dating from the mid 18th century and with 'original
verge' pendulum is nowhere near as prized as
a standard lantern clock of the late 17th century
with original verge escapement, because the
former normally retain their original escapement
and the latter rarely do.
In some provincial areas too
lantern clocks had ceased production by about
1710-20. In other areas such as the East Anglian
counties lantern clocks were made well into
the 1770s, always now keeping to the long pendulum
form. The later examples often have arched dials
rather than those of the traditional lantern
clock shape.
This illustrated
article is divided into several sections: click
on each link to navigate through it.
Copyright
© 2003 Brian Loomes more articles by Brian Loomes on collecting antique clocks
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