Denton Hall Fromanteel This clock is known as the Denton Hall Fromanteel because of its earliest provenance: the Dun Gardner Collection in Denton Hall, an English country house located at Denton, Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire. It was made by pioneering master clockmaker Ahasuerus Fromanteel and is probably the oldest surviving English pendulum spring clock with a fusee.[1] Horologists Percy Dawson, C.B. Drover and D.W. Parkes argue that the Denton Hall Fromanteel incorporates some Dutch elements, ‘but with the distinctive English difference of being heavier, with the larger wheels and thicker plates’.[2] The clock’s square movement pillars are also early and rare, used in only about half a dozen of the very first pendulum clocks. For another example, see Fromanteel’s 1.25-second pendulum movement in the Clifton case.[3] In the Denton Hall clock, Fromanteel innovates by hanging the movement from the dial, foregoing the usual Dutch practice of hinging the movement to the case. Although the movement may have undergone considerable modification over time, it is still possible to discern what the original movement was probably like. Use-wear marks suggest that the movement originally had a silk suspension for the pendulum. The architectural case was probably designed by English architect John Webb as a miniature classical building. Its oak carcass and doors are beautifully detailed and veneered in ebony inside and out. Designed specifically to showcase the new, more accurate pendulum within, hidden secret latches on the front drawer and the back and side doors allow access to the interior. Clearly, the clock case and its movement were intended to be admired from all sides, with the ultimate reveal being a dramatic 360° view of the inner mechanism. Surely, the owner elevated this revelation to a form of theatre, in which he or she proudly showed these inner workings to an audience who had never seen a pendulum clock before. The Denton Hall Fromanteel is one of only five known square-pillared clock movements by Fromanteel.[4] The backplate is signed Ahasuerus Fromanteel Londini Fecit. End Notes [1] Cescinsky and Webster 1913, 258 –260, fig. 274; Darken 2003, 33; Garnier and Hollis 2018, 144–145, Catalogue No. 18. [2] Dawson et al. 1982, 77–81, pl. 92–98, also see 213. [3] Coming soon to Clocktime; Garnier and Hollis 2018, 153–155, Catalogue No. 21; Ender et al. 2004, 48–49; Taylor 2018, 12, Catalogue No. 21. [4] Garnier and Hollis 2018, 144. References Cescinsky, H. and M. R. Webster. 1913. English Domestic Clocks. London: Waverley Book Company. Darken, J. (editor). 2003. Horological Masterworks. London: Antiquarian Horological Society. Dawson, P.G., C.B. Drover and D.W. Parkes. 1982. Early English Clocks. Woodbridge: Antiques Collectors’ Club. Ende, H. van der, J. C. Taylor and F. Van Kersen.2004. Huygens’ Legacy: The golden age of the pendulum clock (Exhibition Catalogue). Isle of Man: Fromanteel Limited. Garnier, R. and L. Hollis. 2018. Innovation & Collaboration: The early development of the pendulum clock in London. Isle of Man: Fromanteel Ltd. Taylor, J. C. 2018. Innovation & Collaboration: Exhibition guide. Isle of Man: Fromanteel Ltd. Source Guildhall Library Muniment Room 8252881 Vol 3/4 and 8252882 Vol 1.
