Edward Webb, Lantern clock

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Lantern Clock
Manufacturer	Edward Webb
Production years	1688
Production location	England

The lantern or bird-cage clock was the first type of domestic clock to be used to any considerable extent and it appears to have been introduced about the end of the sixteenth century. The movement was enclosed in a brass case surmounted by a bell, and the clock was mounted on a bracket and driven by weights. Before the application of the pendulum in about 1660, a verge escapement with a balance wheel without a balance spring was employed in clocks of this type, but after that date a verge escapement with a short pendulum, known as a ‘bob’ pendulum, was used, as in this example made by Edward Webb, Chewstoke, in 1688.

[edit] How it works

The framing consists of two horizontal plates connected by four corner posts, and there are vertical bars which provide bearings for the pivots of the wheel trains. The striking train is mounted separately behind the going train and not by the side of it as in a modern clock. A locking-plate striking mechanism is employed which includes a warning arrangement. There is only one hand, an hour hand, but the hour divisions of the dial are divided into four parts. The going and striking trains are driven by the same weight by means of an endless cord arrangement. A characteristic feature of lantern clocks is the ornamentation, by brass ‘frets’, of the tops of the front and sides.

[edit] Memories

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[edit] In the Science Museum's Records

Inv. No: 1928-722