Benjamin Harlow Clock

[Vich]

Well another of my ancestors clocks has appeared on the bay.  It is in a sorry condition but would probably fix up ok.  Unfortunately I have not got the room for a Grandfather Clock.  Benjamin Harlow and his son, also Benjamin worked from Lane End in Staffordshire.  They followed on from the Ashbourne Harlows who were a clockmaking  and Brassfounding family except for my oldest ancestor George (b1680) who was actually a builder and landowner, it seems he wanted his sons to be indentured into clockmaking.

On the bay it shows:-

A large and impressive longcase clock restoration project. Item is mostly complete (except where noted) but requires restoration/work. This clock dates to the early 19th century and the dial is by Benjamin Harlow, Lane End.
Face could do with repainting, although the corner artworks are still good. Movement is complete apart from the bell and goes and strikes with pressure to the great wheels. Calendar dial is not working. Moon dial has a mechanism fitted and turns. Lines are missing. Pendulum and weights supplied; one weight needs repair.
Trunk is good although the bottom needs repair as the clock doesn't quite stand straight. Hood is in need of TLC, glass is missing and some of the veneer has come away.
Starting at a low price as I need the room.
Clock is 92 inches high (234cm, 2.34m).

 

There is no buy it now price and the auction will run to the end. Shipment/collection is the responsibility of the purchaser. We are in North Wiltshire, 15m Swindon, 35m Bristol. You are bidding to purchase and the highest bid at the closing time and date will be deemed to have bought the item.

Cheers,

Vic

[oldhippy]

That Longcase is around the 1820's, the hands and dial are correct for that movement.

[Vich]

Thanks for that OH

That dating works in well.  There were actually three Benjamins G.Father 1764 - 1809, Father 1789 - 1852 and Son 1829 -.

The timing falls well for the middle Benjamin.  From the horological side it is hard to distinguish as they all lived at Lane End.  However from a genealogical point of view it was fun tracking them down and getting the entries from old trade directories.

Cheers,

Vic

 

 

[oldhippy]

The only way of getting closer to which one would be to look and see if there is a name on the false plate and trace the maker/makers that's the plate between the dial and the movement, some clock makers kept those in stock, so it could have been hanging around. I would say this clock was made by the father or son because its a late piece and the further away from London which was the capital of clock makers the more they were behind the times. The other thing is the paint and detail on the dial is poor which was a sign of a late clock, the corner paintings merge into each other on the sides, earlier dials would have a gap, remember this the more paint on the dial the latter the clock.    

[Davallycat]

Hi - I have a Benjamin Harlow clock and would like to know a little more about its back ground if anyone is able to assist?

Thank you 

[oldhippy]

I’m going to start with the hood of the case, it tells me a lot, because the hood pillars are plain or fluted and have cast brass capitals it tells us that the hood was made after 1740, it is known as a swan neck hood and it might have a hole in the protruding centre for a finial made of brass the trunk door fitting has a larger edge so again after 1740, early ones would be flush inside the door opening, so the hood and trunk are as one. The dial is an arch brass dial with silvered chapter ring, the style tells me it is after 1800, the number 5 has a long tail that almost curls round to make a circle that is another clue that tells me about the date also the numbers on the minute ring are outside.

Weights are not original, they look to be cast iron and they should be Lead. You would not have cast iron weights on a Brass faced Long Case.  Benjamin Harlow Lane End Staffordshire listed in Watchmakers & Clockmakers Vol 2 Brian Loomes

I would date this clock around 1835. It is very late for a Brass dial Longcase. The painted dial clocks had taken over by then in most parts of the country. The dial must have come from stock that had be in the workshop and had already been engraved and ready to mount to a movement.

 

[Vich]

Excellent information as always OH. 

I am still following up on my ancestors and have a couple of  Benj Harlow (inscribed on movements) Pocket Watches.  It took a while (and with advice from others including yourself) for me to understand that the title "Watchmaker/Clockmaker" did not mean that the whole watch or indeed clock though inscribed on the movement was made in their workshop, but could be a collection of  work from numerous different people and those people tended to specialise on the production of particular parts, pivots, faces dials, Silversmiths for watch cases, carpentry and engraving etc. ad infinitum.  These parts were then possibly put together at the Harlow workshops but equally the movements especially for cheaper Pocket Watches, could even have been bought in and merely engraved with the name.

I know that the Harlows were time served indentured and qualified as watch makers and capable, however, some were brassfounders as well and Sam Harlow in particular took a part in attempting to standardise movements to make parts interchangeable with the publication of his clockmakers guide.  It may be that he had a greater part in the production of his movements which are like hens teeth to get a hold of.

I was a bit disappointed originally to lose the mental image of the ancestor bent over the workbench making a piece from start to finish but have come to terms with it and am happy to own the two Pocket watches.  They are in a sorry state and I am building up to repairing them.  Thanks to lockdown, I am not as involved with other matters and am looking through a book by a chap called Christopher Barrow and finding it good reading.  I was wondering if you had any suggestions for reading, I have a lot of the standard ones such as Donald de Carle and Harold C Kelly from when I first started dabbling but any suggestions would be welcome. 

All this reading may of course be quite rightly be attributed to procrastination due to fear of knacking up the watches but this is something I want to do myself.  The fusee and chain is indeed a mystical piece of work.

Best wishes OH as always and keep safe.

 

 

[Davallycat]

Hi - I just wanted to acknowledge the helpfulness of members and thank you for the comments. OH was kind enough to take a look at some pictures of my clock and has provided some really useful information.

On closer inspection I have also been able to work out why my clock needed winding every 5 to 6 days and have managed to untangle to lines so it should be back to normal now.

Thank you again and best wishes.

[oldhippy]

That is one way of seeing if the movement belongs to the case but it is not a perfect way and should not exclusively be relied on; the case can have other various alterations. When the weights have been let down both should be just off the bottom. The lines should never overlap on the barrels. Sometimes the cheeks of the case have been cut down or wood added to give height (cheeks) the parts that the seat board sit on. The most common is the feet have been cut off; this is much harder to find the signs of this because these clocks would stand on slab floors and would be prone to getting wet so the wood would rot. This would only be in the cheapest of Longcase clocks. The better types would be away from the kitchen.