John Harrison - The John Harrison precision wooden regulator ebonised longcase gridiron pendulum.
Join Dr John C Taylor OBE from the Clocktime digital museum as he discusses the case and dial of the John Harrison Wooden Regulator, dated 1726.
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The clock itself is slightly confusing because at the top here you've got James Harrison Barrow and, on the dial, you've got John Harrison Barrow. So, it looks if the brothers were cooperating and John who'd done the design wanted James to have some of the credit for making their parts and so we've got the two names on the clock. The escape wheel arbor has an extension and onto that is a wooden seconds dial. And because it's the dial itself is rotating, it almost appears to be going backwards from what you'd normally expect, where you have a needle rotating the other way against the fixed dial. And at the bottom of this lovely oak dial, you've got the calendar aperture and again a paper with Indian ink lettering done by John Harrison himself. At the top right hand corner of the dial is the maintaining power to keep the clock running during the winding and it's cocked by just lifting it up. So, it is a two train clock, the nine-side (IX) here with the striking train and the three-side (III) here with the going train. And on the four corners of the dial, there are these lovely hand painted in gold powder paint, these lovely spandrels with flowers and decoration. So, the top of the hood has the concave mouldings, which became fashionable at the end of the 17th century and below we've got the decoration from these beautiful little flowers and it's all framed by the top of the door with the break arch shape. In the door is a lenticle with a gesso filled wooden gilt surround and, on the inside, you can see the swinging pendulum.