Iron turret clock in wooden frame

Technical characteristics

Date

1675-1685

Type

Turret clock

Total weight

155.5 kg

Origin church

St Peter' Church, Martley, Worcestershire, England

Place recorded

England

Total height over pendulum

2290 mm

Design

Visible features

• Open rectangular timber frame supporting iron wheelwork and horizontal shafts • Two cylindrical wooden winding barrels mounted horizontally on the left side of the frame • Long iron pendulum rod suspended from the upper right, extending downward to a disc-shaped pendulum bob • Two large freestanding sandstone weights with top iron mounting rings set beneath the movement assembly

Object Identity and Provenance

This English turret clock movement is catalogued under object number 1963-41 by the Science Museum Group, where it is classified both as a tower clock and a weight-driven pendulum clock. The maker is unrecorded, with production dated between 1675 and 1685 in England. Collection records state that the assembly was removed from St Peter's Church in Martley, Worcestershire, England. The museum records an acquisition credit to Canon J. S. Leatherbarrow. While the principal movement and timber frame survive together, the museum inventories the object across nine component parts (Pt1 through Pt9), cataloguing the frame, wheelwork, drive weights, pendulum rod, pulleys, and associated hardware.

Frame Construction and Visible Assembly

Direct observation of the display shows an open rectangular timber frame supporting iron wheelwork and horizontal shafts, along with two horizontally mounted cylindrical wooden winding barrels on the left side of the frame. Suspended from the upper right is a long iron pendulum rod terminating in a disc-shaped bob, accompanied by two large freestanding sandstone weights with top iron mounting rings set beneath the movement assembly. Museum metrics document the primary frame height at 1545 mm and a total height over the pendulum of 2290 mm. The main frame and movement component (1963-41 Pt1) measures 1550 mm by 1395 mm by 520 mm with a weight of 55 kg, while the combined weight of the clock, frame, pendulum, and drive weights is recorded as 155.5 kg.

Associated Weights and Peripheral Hardware

The driving weights include sandstone elements catalogued with a combined weight of 100.5 kg across Pt8 and Pt9. Part Pt8 is described as a sandstone weight measuring 385 mm by 280 mm by 280 mm and weighing 43.5 kg, while Part Pt9 is entered under the title 'Pendulum Rod for Iron Turret Clock in Wooden Frame' but measured at 665 mm by 240 mm by 180 mm and 38.5 kg. Part Pt4 descriptions note measurements for a grey sandstone pendulum (430 mm x 250 mm x 260 mm), an orange sandstone pendulum (670 mm x 250 mm x 185 mm), and an estimated pendulum rod measurement of 2160 mm by 45 mm by 230 mm. Additional ancillary equipment recorded under the inventory includes three single-block wooden pulleys encased in wrought iron frames (Pt5 weighing 1.580 kg, Pt6 weighing 1.020 kg, and Pt7 weighing 2.841 kg), a detached bell hammer measuring 720 mm by 255 mm (Pt3), and additional metal parts (Pt2).

Identification

Object Number

1963-41

Source note

Facts transcribed from the linked source listing or collection record. Attribution and specifications are source-reported and have not been independently authenticated.

Catalogue references

No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.