Early Clocks
Lee Borrett
Religious Longcase. An interesting John Sanderson religious 30-hour, housed in a religious early oak longcase c1700. Photographed by Lee Borrett
John Sanderson
of
Wigton, c1700
The interesting religious 30-hour clock illustrated here, was made by John Sanderson of Wigton from around c1700. The polished dial centre is deeply engraved with Sanderson's well known religious verse which reads: 'Remember man, That Die thou must, And after that, To judgement just'. The absence of spandrels and the heavily built brass lantern type movement are both typical features of Sanderson's early work. Apart from of the lantern feet being replaced at some point in it's past the movement is in a superb original condition throughout including retaining all it's original wheel-work and collets. The clock is housed in an interesting religious early oak longcase with no true base. The first owners initials and a date of 1703 (probably a marriage date) is nailed onto a front panel, with what appears to be the symbol of a cross.
Above. Showing the eleven inch square brass dial of the interesting John Sanderson religious 30-hour, c1700..Photographed by Lee Borrett
Below. Showing a close-up of the John Sanderson signature with attatched trident half-hour markers.Photographed by Lee Borrett
Below. Showing a close-up of the polished dial centre which is deeply engraved with Sanderson's well known religious verse which reads: 'Remember man, That Die thou must, And after that, To judgement just'..Photographed by Lee Borrett
Below. Showing a rear view of the John Sanderson heavily built lantern type brass and iron movement which is typical of his early work. Photographed by Lee Borrett
Below. Showing a side view of the John Sanderson lantern type movement sitting on two oak blocks. Apart from one of the rear lantern feet being replaced at some point in it's past the movement is in a superb original condition throughought including retaining all it's original wheelwork and collets.Photographed by Lee Borrett
Below. Showing a view of the top plate. Typically, Sanderson has fixed the movement to the dial by pinning the top and lugging the bottom. Photographed by Lee Borrett
The clock is housed in a fabulous early primitive pegged oak case with lenticle and has the first owners initials and a date of 1703 (probably a marriage date) nailed onto a front panel, with what appears to be a symbol of a cross. The hood was originally risisng and and has no mask. There are hanging barley twist pillars to the hood and trunk. The case which does not have a true base stands approximately 90 inches tall, with the trunk being 62 inches long and just over 10 inches wide. The trunk door (with lenticle) has 'D' mould and covers the whole width of the trunk. There are external hinges to the hood door and trunk side.
Showing the fabulous early primitive oak case with hanging barley twist pillars, external brass hinges to the hood and trunk door sides and lenticle. The case which does not have a true base stands approximately 90 inches tall, with the trunk being 62 inches long and just over 10 inches wide. Photographed by Lee Borrett
Above. The first owners initials and a date of 1703 (probably a marriage date) is nailed onto a front panel, with what appears to be the symbol of a cross. Photographed by Lee Borrett
Above. Medieval Christian Cross, Eleventh Century A.D. The Memento Mori concept has its roots in the philosophers of classical antiquity and Christianity, and appeared in funerary art and architecture from the medieval period onwards. Photographed by Lee Borrett
Below. Showing a close-up of the hanging barly twist pillars along with external brass hinges to the hood door. Photograph by Lee Borrett
Below. Showing a close-up of the superb trunk door glass lenticle with imperfections, flaws and bubbles. Photograph by Lee Borrett
Below. Showing a close-up of the trunk door brass latch. Photograph by Lee Borrett
It is thought that Sanderson sold many of his early 30-hour clocks with the brass lantern style pillars at the local marketplace in wigton and surrounding areas including even as far as Edinburgh with a view that the new owners could either use them as wall on bracket clocks (showing off the lantern style brass pillars) and keeping the price down. Alternatively, they could house the clock in a wooden case straight away or at some time in the future when they could afford to. From my own experiences in collecting them I think that apart from a few cases the vast majority of Sanderson’s early religious versed 30-hour clocks with the lantern style movements were probably used as wall clocks initially and then some of these were either housed later in a new case, styled in the then fashion of the day, or like other examples found today - which have been at some time in their life adapted to a previously occupied case (married up). However, when collecting these early Wigton clocks this is all part of their natural history through the passage of time and ownership and I do not view this in a negative way. With the example illustrated here, because it has had one of it's lantern feet replaced suggests to me that it has probably fallen from a wall bracket or shelf at some time in it's past and was then housed in this wonderfully interesting religious longcase with cross later.
Above. 17th century hand coloured engraving of Westmoreland and Cumberland showing Wigton, by Robert Morden, published by Abel Swale Awnsham and John Churchil, London, about 1695. Lakes Guides website. Map "courtesy of Dove Cottage"
John Sanderson was born in 1671 and was brought up at Tiffinthwaite Farm (near Wigton) where his father Robert was the blacksmith and they probably lived in the outbuildings on the farmland. It is believed that he may have served an apprenticeship under the Quaker Clockmaker John Ogden at Bowbridge in Yorkshire during the 1680s. He was back living and working as a Clockmaker at Tiffinthwaite from about 1691.
Acknowledgement
