Lantern Clocks

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Lantern clocks 

Origins and Early Development (Before 1500-1600)

Lantern clocks were the first type of clock widely used in private homes. They probably originated before 1500 but only became common after 1600.

The English lantern clock, or 'house clock' as it was known during the seventeenth century, first appeared in its familiar and well-loved form around the year 1600, at the end of the Elizabethan age. It was a direct development of the iron clocks, generally called 'Gothic' clocks, which had been made by clockmakers across Europe but particularly in Germany, France and Switzerland and which wealthy households in England, requiring a convenient domestic clock, had imported into this country.

Before Huygens innovation of the pendulum in 1656, lantern clocks were the first real technological innovation to enter the domestic realm in the early 17th century.

The Name "Lantern Clock"

There are two theories of the origin of the name "lantern clock". One is that it refers to brass, the main metal used in their construction.

These clocks were usually made of brass, and there is some tradition that the name lantern comes from the fact that brass alloys were sometimes known as 'latten'.

Often called "birdcage clocks", the chief feature of lantern clocks is a dome formed by a bell, with open fretwork connecting the bell to the dial.

Construction and Design Features

Basic Structure

The London Clockmakers equipped their lantern clocks with four pillars inspired by classical columns. Attached to these pillars are classical vase-shaped finials and well-shaped feet. To those finials a bell strap is attached that spreads from four corners and holds a bell. To hide the hammer and the clock movement from the spectator three frets are attached to the finials. The front fret is pierced and engraved whereas the two side frets are pierced but usually left blank.

The front of the clock case consists of an engraved dial plate on which a circular dial ring is attached. Almost all lantern clocks originally had just one clock hand to indicate the hours.

Another feature of this type of clock is that its driving weights and pendulum hang outside the clock's small case rather than being hidden inside a larger case.

Power and Striking

Lantern clocks were originally weight-driven: usually one weight for time keeping and a second for striking. A few later lantern-style clocks were constructed with spring mechanisms, and many surviving examples of the original weight-driven type have been converted to spring or pendulum mechanisms.

These clocks were elegantly made, with four pillars enclosing the movement, which was weight driven, with generally two weights hung from ropes or chains at the bottom of the movement, gravity ensuring the working of the mechanism.

A standard lantern clock strikes the hours on a large bell and is often equipped with an alarm that rings the same bell. Two doors provide access to the movement and are hinged at the sides of the clock.

Original Timekeeping Mechanism

Without a pendulum, their accuracy was not perfect, and there was no second's hand.

It can be rare to find an original lantern clock, with a balance wheel, as these were notoriously very inaccurate, having no natural frequency of oscillation.

The Golden Age: London Production (17th Century)

The Worshipful Company of Clockmakers

In only a few decades, the lantern clock became very popular in London and from there its popularity spread to the entire country. This is evident from the large number of lantern clocks that still exist. Dozens of clockmakers produced great numbers of these clocks in the city of London during the 17th century. This huge productivity was the result of the high demand for this popular clock in combination with an effective guild system. In 1631 King Charles I granted a charter for a clockmaker guild in London: the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, which exists to this day.

Status and Value

At that time, a brass lantern clock or a tall case clock with a brass movement would have been among the most expensive items its owners possessed. More important as status symbols than as precise timekeepers, the clocks often had only an hour hand. Most people did not require to-the-minute accuracy.

Alternative Names

In inventories of deceased clockmakers, lantern clocks are usually referred to as "house clocks", "chamber clocks" or simply "clocks", since in 17th century England they were almost the only type of domestic clocks that existed. It was only after a century had passed, when other types of domestic clocks began to be used in British houses, that more descriptive names for it appeared. Other names used for lantern clocks are "bedpost", "birdcage" or "Cromwellian" clocks. "Sheep's head clock" was a nickname term for a type of lantern clock that had an extremely large chapter ring covering almost the entire front.

Continental Influence

The English lantern clock is closely related to lantern clocks that can be found on the European continent. A group of craftsmen from the Low Lands (Flanders) and France, of which some were clockmakers, had established themselves in London at the end of the 16th century.

Evolution and Modifications

Escapement Conversions

Over time the majority of lantern clocks were adapted to use a verge escapement and anchor escapement. The verge escapements with short bob pendulums were being used for lantern clocks well into the 18th century, but when the anchor escapement with the 'seconds pendulum' came along, which produced a far more precise timepiece, as the frequency of oscillation is more predictable due to the force of gravity. This prompted many conversions and lantern clocks were then often arranged to stand on wooden wall brackets.

Because of their great age most English antique lantern clocks show the 'improvements' that have been carried out by original owners who decided they would modernise a cherished clock with a later and more accurate escapement, rather than exchange it for a new clock. The most common conversion is that from balance escapement to anchor and most of these conversions were made at the end of the seventeenth and the beginning of the eighteenth centuries. More uncommon is the conversion from balance to verge pendulum and these conversions were most probably made about 1659-1660, fairly soon after the first introduction of the pendulum.

Rarity of Originals

The number of antique lantern clocks made before 1660 and still surviving with their original balance escapement is unknown but could certainly be counted on one hand.

The Minute Hand Issue

Measuring time became much more accurate, but most clockmakers kept building lantern clocks without minute hands: this may be just a matter of tradition.

Decline and Obsolescence (18th-19th Century)

The result was that clockmakers started to develop other types of domestic clocks. Longcase clocks with 8-day movements made lantern clocks obsolete, and gradually lantern clocks disappeared from the London interiors in the first decades of the 18th century. In rural areas lantern clocks were produced until the beginning of the 19th century, and in those years they were also exported to countries like Turkey, and supplied with oriental numbers on their dials.

They became obsolete in the 19th century.

Evolution to Longcase Clocks

It is thought that the long case may have been derived from the lantern clock, with an added case to protect the pendulum and also for a more aesthetic presentation.

Victorian Revival and Modifications

In the Victorian era there was a revival of interest in antique lantern clocks. Unfortunately this also meant that many clocks of renowned makers were stripped of their movements, which were replaced by 'modern' winding movements. Nowadays unmodified original lantern clocks are very rare.

Regional Variations

Exhibited too were many examples from the second half of the seventeenth century with their original and unaltered verge pendulum escapements, some by West Country makers where the lantern clock remained particularly popular well into the eighteenth century.

American Examples

Joseph Hall of London, England, made this clock about 1680. It is a weight-driven style of domestic clock made entirely of metal and named after its shape, which roughly resembles a lantern. English emigrants from Bermuda purportedly brought the clock to Massachusetts around 1700.

Legacy and Historical Significance

As their original name suggests, they were designed as simple, functional timepieces, used to regulate the daily routine and activities of the household in which they hung. Their weight-driven movements were stout, reliable, comparatively cheap and were more accurate than contemporary spring-driven clocks.

Lantern clocks represent a pivotal moment in horological history - the transition from public timekeeping (church clocks and town clocks) to private domestic timekeeping. They democratized time measurement for wealthy households and established England, particularly London, as a center of clockmaking excellence. Their distinctive "birdcage" appearance and exposed weights make them instantly recognizable, and original examples are highly prized by collectors today, though finding one with its original balance escapement is extraordinarily rare.