Millbourn Tompion Everything about the Millbourn Tompion just oozes refined quality. It’s restrained and yet it’s beautiful. Dr John C. Taylor, OBE FREng, horologist, inventor and creator of Clocktime The Millbourn Tompion Longcase is the very essence of refined quality. It is one of the most beautifully preserved examples of maker Thomas Tompion’s ‘Type 3’ clock cases – his top-of-the-range line that was produced at the height of his career.[1] The clock’s burr walnut-veneered case, (then) state-of-the-art month-going movement – and indeed all its features – signal that it was probably made for one of Tompion’s aristocratic clients.[2] A savvy production By 1699, around the time that the Millbourn Tompion Longcase was made, Tompion’s business was flourishing and he was already well-established as London’s premier clock- and watchmaker. His workshop produced top-of-the-line productions for royalty and the aristocracy, and he enjoyed the royal patronage of the reigning monarchs, King William III and II and Queen Mary II. However, Tompion’s success was based on more than just his elite client list. Every bit the savvy businessman, he purposely catered to customers of different means and with a range of requirements. In addition to high-specification commissions, he manufactured low-specification, humble clocks for the gentry (people of good social standing but who were not nobility).[3] These clocks typically ran independently for a shorter period; examples include 30-hour and 8 day duration longcases. By way of comparison, his more expensive clocks, such as the Millbourn Tompion Longcase, could run as long as 30 days before requiring to be wound. By the early 1680s, Tompion also serialised his products, using numbers to keep track of his tremendous output of clocks and watches.[4] For today’s collectors, Tompion clocks sitting within the numbered series are generally the most sought after, and those with the longest durations, such as the most expensive month-going clocks, are the most coveted of these.[5] The month-going, Milbourn Tompion is identified in two places as No. 333 in the maker’s series: on the edge of the trunk door and on the bottom centre of the backplate. These marks underscore this clock’s status as an especially rare and valuable horological treasure within Tompion's canon. Tompion was also the first maker (of any kind of product) to apply mass production methods and to use machines to make gears and other components. He supplemented his revenue by selling components, such as whole movements and clock cases, to other makers. Additionally, he subcontracted the making of components to other makers, thus outsourcing the manufacture of parts and even whole movements, which were then finished in his workshop.[6] Tompion’s use of mass production methods is why the cases of clocks in his numbered series, such as the Millbourn Tompion, can be identified as types. Tompion case types are based on carcass construction and typified by shared characteristics that appear on cases made during different phases of Tompion’s career. These phases are typically organised according to periods of making, such as before Tompion began using a serialisation method, and then at various points of production throughout his number series. For example, as explained by horologist Dr John C Taylor, early unnumbered Tompion longcases, as well as numbered longcases up to the 200s and the start of the 300s, are all made in the same way, as evidenced by their having convex mouldings between the hood and the trunk. Thus, these early Tompion clock cases have the same case form as the first longcases produced by clockmaker Ahasuerus Fromanteel. For an example of Fromanteel’s early cases, see the convex mouldings between the hood and trunk on the Norfolk Fromanteel Longcase, which was made around 1660 and is exhibited on Clocktime. It is one of the first of the early Fromanteel longcases and is the earliest surviving example of this case form in a complete clock with its original movement and case.[7] Bearing the above in mind, Tompion’s standard case formats can be identified by: (i) the construction of the hood, (ii) the case finish, (iii) identical scratch-mould tooling marks on the hood and case, and (iv) the use of the same castings that were produced for Tompion’s longcases.[8] Further, the style of these characteristics correlates to their date of manufacture. For example, antiquarian Johnny Carter argues that the use of a ‘regal’ flat front-and-back bell upstand is an almost ubiquitous feature of Tompion’s special cases produced during the turn of the century, during the late 1690s and early 1700s. This is one of the reasons why we can confidently categorise the Millbourn Tompion as a Type 3 case. Tompion’s number series method also makes it possible to discern that he ordered his clock cases in advance, stocking every case component, from caddy shapes to a range of veneers in his workshop.[9] The production methods described above saved time and money, not only for Tompion, but also for the makers who sourced components from him. They also meant that customers could order a standard case type and embellish it with added extras, such as the burr walnut veneer seen on the Millbourn Tompion, as they saw fit (and as their customer’s budget permitted). Added extras A special Type 3 case The Millbourn Tompion represents one of Tompion’s most sought-after, longer duration products, and its added extras made it a clock fit for a king, or at least for an aristocrat who had occasion to host a king. It was around 1697 that Tompion introduced his fully developed Type 3 longcases. These are characterised by forward-sliding hoods (as mentioned above), a hood door and large caddy tops. They also have concave mouldings. The use of concave mouldings, rather than the traditional convex mouldings seen on earlier clock cases (also mentioned above), was deliberate. By way of contrast, concave mouldings create a smooth visual line in which the trunk blends seamlessly into the hood and the base. This smooth line differentiated Tompion’s case form from that of Fromanteel, one of his main competitors, as well as from his own case forms that had come before. Tompion's concave mouldings made his longcases look modern; thus, the maker was advancing decorative fashions and designs. The Millbourn Tompion is a pristine example of Tompion’s fashion-forward, special Type 3 case, with its forward-sliding hood, caddy top, concave throat mouldings, and great height of 2337 mm.[10] Its caddy top hood is decorated with two brass ball-and-flame finials and also features brass-capped Doric columns. Additionally the hood appears to have two rows of pierced walnut sound frets; however, as Dr Taylor explains, it is only the one on the lower row that is functional. This is because it is pierced, while the upper ‘fret’ is only similarly carved and therefore purely decorative.[11] The hood’s side panels have glass insets, allowing viewing of the movement. The most striking aspect of the Millbourn Tompion’s Type 3 clock case presentation is its burr walnut veneer, which covers the entirety of the clock’s oak carcass. Burr (or burl) walnut veneer is a wood veneer that was used to decorate top-of-the-range clock cases during the 1600s and 1700s. Sourced from the burr wood of the walnut tree, it is made from wood from the tree’s root system or the wood near the base of the trunk, where smaller branches are found. Wood from these sections of the walnut tree is known for its for its rich dark colour and intricate grain patterns, including swirls, knots and irregular growths. The sublime veneer on the Millbourn Tompion appears to have been sourced from the same block of wood.[12] On the trunk of the clock’s case are four panels positioned to create a mirrored effect. Its plinth also has a quartered veneer panel, the sections of which have been cut from the same block. Their common corners meet at the centre to form a symmetrical pattern. Burr walnut veneer was typically derived from the imported bark of the black and dark walnut tree (Juglans nigra) from North America. Although English walnut trees (Juglans regia) were available, it was the North American black walnut tree that was coveted for veneering because of its harder and more grooved properties.[13] Therefore, the added extra of a burr walnut veneer was costly, because the source of the veneer was imported and the veneering process itself was specialised and complex. This was an expensive feature, affordable only to customers of means. Burr walnut veneer was also used for fine furniture and decorative objects during this period. For an example of other clocks with this type of veneer, see the Musical Moonphase Longcase made by Christopher Gould around 1701, which is exhibited on Clocktime[14], as well as the year-going longcase that Tompion made for King William III and II around 1695 (and now housed in Buckingham Palace as part of the Royal Collection Trust, RCIN 57800). In addition to the Millbourn Tompion, we know of several Tompion clocks with Type 3 cases in museum collections. These include the Guggenheim Tompion No. 223, with its early Type 3 case. This clock was made around 1693 and completed around 1698–1699. Standard Type 3 cases can also be seen on the Mostyn Tompion No. 347, made around 1700,[15] and on the walnut-veneered Tompion longcase No. 275, which is housed in the Royal Collection (RCIN 934887). There is also an example of a special Type 3 burr walnut-veneered case on the Pearson Tompion No. 387 (coming soon to Clocktime), which was made around 1703 by Tompion and his (then) partner Edward Banger.[16] Finally, there is the Sidereal Tompion Regulator No. 483, also produced by Tompion and Banger around 1709.[17] This last example is exhibited on Clocktime. For examples of clocks by other makers who used a Tompion Type 3 case, see Gould’s Musical Moonphase Longcase (mentioned above), which features a towering Tompion-type ‘special’ case.[18] Carter argues that Gould’s case format for this clock is based directly on Tompion’s Type 3 case. Gould also probably hired Tompion’s case maker to design this clock's lavish burr walnut veneer with its inset crossbanding in princes wood (also known as kingwood) and tulipwood, as well as its break-arch dial shape.[19] There is also the Kingwood Graham Longcase by Tompion’s protégé and successor, George Graham. This month-going precision longcase has a Type 3 case with parquetry inlay, is numbered 639 and was made around 1722.[20] Daniel Delander, who was one of Tompion’s former apprentices and professionally active from 1699, also used burr walnut veneers on some of his clock cases as well as Tompion’s Type 3 cases for his earlier Phase I clocks, which were on the market around 1710. These had standard square dials and conventional Type 3 cases.[21] The above list of Tompion clocks with Type 3 cases is short, thus underscoring the rarity in the horological record of surviving examples such as the Millbourn Tompion. What is more, Carter observes that of the numerous Type 3 longcases that have come up for auction since the 1970s, most have suffered damage and loss, probably due to their great and rather unwieldy height. In fact, we know of only six that have survived without losses or alterations. The Millbourn Tompion is one of these.[22] Unusually, its Type 3 case is completely intact and in pristine condition. Top-of-the-line features and other added extras The Millbourn Tompion’s fire-gilded brass dial was crafted to Tompion’s exacting standards using handmade drills, piercing saws and files. Its features include four gilt brass Indian mask and scroll spandrels with scrolling foliage delicately engraved between each. These fine engravings are attributed Tompion’s case maker, identified as ‘Grave 195’. There is also a silver chapter ring and finely pierced blued-steel hands. Dr Taylor points out that the tiny swirls of the hour hand are indeed ‘a thing of beauty’, the making of which required a steady hand, as ‘it looks as if just two misjudged file strokes could destroy the whole thing’. Among the added extras that Tompion provided per his customer’s request is a little seconds dial just below the XII, as well as a calendar aperture just above the VI. The calendar aperture has a pinhole on either side of the number, which enables adjustment of the calendar setting. This feature made it possible for the owner to manually adjust the calendar with a pin in case he or she forgot to wind the clock, thus allowing it to run down. The month-going archetypical movement was also a top-of-the-line feature. It meant that that there was no need to wind the clock for an entire month. This allowed the owner a generous amount of time to forego this task; by comparison, most clocks produced during this time had shorter durations of 30 hours or 8 days until they required winding. The month-going movement also has bolt-and-shutter maintaining power, two trains and an anchor escapement with recoil. The strike train is controlled by a large external countwheel mounted on the backplate.[23] Originally, the movement had six pillars. At some point, the lower central pillar was removed. Although the removal of single pillars has been observed on other Tompion month-going movements, the reason (or reasons) for this alteration are unknown.[24] The Millbourn provenance Why Milbourn? Provenance is a term used to describe the chronology of ownership, chain of custody or location of a historic object. It provides vital information that can inform the value of an object, and more importantly, it also provides a historical record and timeline that can help to reveal the story of an object. Depending on how much of the chronology of ownership survives, we can piece together how and when historical timekeepers initially passed from the care of their makers into the hands of their first owners, then another owner, and yet more subsequent owners and caretakers up to the present day. In the case of the Millbourn Tompion, the name by which we identify it today refers to the time it spent under the care of the person who owned and looked after it from roughly 1936 until 1967. This individual was Sir (Philip) Eric Millbourn. Millbourn acquired the clock at auction at Christie’s on 20 November 1936.[25] It remained in his private collection until it went up for auction at Christie’s on 8 June 1967, where it was acquired by Ronald A. Lee for his private collection.[26] After passing through the hands of another unknown private collector, the clock was auctioned at Christie’s on 13 November 2000 and consequently entrusted to the care of Dr John C. Taylor; today, it remains part of his Clock Collection. Exactly why the Millbourn name attached itself to this clock is not known. It is likely that it was conveniently named or referred to as the Millbourn Tompion in a catalogue when Sir Eric put the clock up for auction in 1967, at a time when auction house documentation methodologies were becoming more standardised. Sir (Phillip) Eric Millbourn Although Eric Millbourn is a figure of relatively recent historical significance, his name and story have largely faded from cultural memory. Born in Yorkshire in 1902, he came from humble beginnings. In 1931, he married Ethel Marjorie Sennett of Kingswood Grange, Reigate. During the 1930s and 1940s, the Millbourns lived in a townhouse in Knightsbridge in London and also owned a cottage on the Kingswood Grange estate. Eric was already forging what was to be a stellar career ‘in quietly and efficiently getting things done for governments.’[27] During the 1940s and 1950s, Millbourn was instrumental in the creation of London’s two international airports, Heathrow and Gatwick. He also served as Honorary Adviser on Shipping in Port to the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation. In 1950, he was awarded the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (CMG), and just five years later in 1955, he was made a Knight Bachelor of the Realm in the New Year Honours. It was also during the 1950s that the Millbourns purchased the Conkwell Grange property at Limpley Stoke near Bath in England.[28] This Edwardian property, built in 1907, would have been a splendid home for the Millbourn Tompion, which was by then part of Millbourn’s private collection. In 1957, Sir Eric delivered his greatest achievement, in the form of the Millbourn Report. This came about because ever-rising numbers of passengers were putting extreme pressure on the functioning of Heathrow Airport. Millbourn was asked to head a committee to find a solution to the problem. Based on the committee’s findings presented in the report, Sir Eric recommended that all Heathrow’s terminals should be in one central area, and that two terminals should be constructed: one for long-haul flights (now Terminal 3) and one for short-haul ones (this became Terminal 1). The report also called for the expansion of Gatwick Airport. Crucially, the plan also provided a roadmap for how to handle the 12 million passengers anticipated by 1970. Costs were estimated at £17 million. The meticulous foresight of the expansion plan presented in Sir Eric’s report was a masterclass in infrastructure planning. At the time, it was considered the gold standard of airport planning, and it shaped the Heathrow Airport that we know and use today. Following its publication, the Millbourn Report’s author found himself in great demand, and Sir Eric spent the rest of his career travelling the world advising on transport problems. As a result, he became a very wealthy man. Upon his death in 1982, his estate was worth £1,779,975. His wife, Lady Millbourn, died the following year. Despite all his achievements, Sir Eric is relatively unknown today, and the public archives provide few details of his projects or life. Perhaps this is because he shunned publicity and lived a quiet life devoid of scandal. Or perhaps it is because of the nature of his work and accomplishments. After all, he engaged in and excelled at infrastructure planning, a craft that involves complex technical detail and long-term thinking and is difficult to describe in a snappy soundbite. Finally, it is worth mentioning that Sir Eric’s penchant for problem solving as well as his love of aviation and transport are shared by one of the Millbourn Tompion’s later caretakers, Dr Taylor. Like Sir Eric, Dr Taylor has built a career on finding solutions to complex problems. He also has a deep passion for aviation, which in turn inspired his interest in horology and his collection of early British clocks. The two collectors’ shared connection between aviation and horology is a lovely through line in the relatively recent story of the Millbourn Tompion. Dr Kristin Leith, Senior Curator of Clocktime August 2024 End Notes [1] Darken 2003, 208–211; Evans 2006, 77; Evans et al. 2013, 474–475, 604; Carter 2021, 138–143. [2] Thomas Tompion cultivated an extensive and wealthy clientele, enjoying the patronage of four successive sovereigns: Charles II, James II and VII, William III and II and his co-monarch Mary II, and Queen Anne. [3] Evans et al. 2013. [4] Taylor et al. 2019, 5. [5] Carter 2021, 138. [6] Carter 2022, 202 and 203. [7] Fromanteel was the first London clockmaker to master the new pendulum technology and began producing pendulum clocks for market by 1658. Initially, these new Fromanteel clocks were table clocks with box-like cases. Almost immediately, the design of the case evolved. These box-like cases were followed by hooded wall clocks and then, within a couple of years, the longcase form was introduced. Garnier and Hollis 2018, 81–114 and 175. [8] Carter 2022, 202 and 203. [9] Evans et al. 2013, chapter 2; Carter 2021, 162 and 166. [10] Carter 2021, 138. Darken (2003, No. 47) describes the mouldings on the Millbourn Tompion’s case as ‘convex’ rather than concave. [11] See the Clocktime Millbourn Tompion video. Also Darken (2003, No. 47) notes that the finials and frets were missing when the clock came to auction in 1936. [12] Darken (2003, No. 47) notes that the skirting of the trunk has been re-veneered. [13] The darker North American walnut tree variety also grows to maturity much faster than its lighter British counterpart. [14] Ende et al. 2004, 250–251; Garnier and Hollis 2018, 372–373, Catalogue No. 115; Carter 2022, 198–206, Catalogue No. 29. [15] Evans et al. 2013, 466–467 and 518–521. [16] Darken 2003, 226–231; Evans et al. 2013, 494–495; Garnier and Carter 2015, 66; Garnier and Hollis 2018, 366–369, Catalogue No. 113; Carter 2021 (Part II), 178–191, Catalogue No. 36. [17] Neilson 1977, 214–216; Ende et al. 2004, 260–261; Evans et al. 2013, 534–536; Garnier and Carter 2015, 34–35 and 37; Carter 2022, 212–221, No. 31. [18] Supra no. 14. [19] Carter 2022, 202. [20] When Graham took over Tompion’s business after Tompion’s death, he continued to use his mentor’s numbered series for production. Dawson et al. 1982, 299, pls 426–429; Evans et al. 2013, 609; Garnier and Carter 2015, 201; Carter 2021, 206–211, Catalogue No. 39. [21] Carter 2021, 200. [22] Carter 2021, 138. [23] Around 1708, just a few years after the Millbourn Tompion was manufactured, Tompion introduced rack striking to his production of longcase movements. This horological innovation improved upon the method in which the strike train is controlled by an external countwheel, as seen in the Millbourn Tompion. [24] Darken 2003, No. 47. [25] Prior to acquisition by Millbourn in 1936, the Millbourn Tompion was the ‘property of a lady’. [26] Ronald A. Lee was an expert on English clocks and is the author of The Knibb Family, Clockmakers, published in 1964. [27] https://houseandheritage.org/tag/conkwell-grange/ [28] Ibid References Carter, J. 2021. The John C Taylor Collection: Part I (Selling Exhibition Catalogue, Carter Marsh & Co.). Winchester: Carter Marsh & Co. Carter, J. 2022. The John C Taylor Collection: Part III (Selling Exhibition Catalogue, Carter Marsh & Co). Winchester: Carter Marsh & Co. Darken, J. (editor). 2003. Horological Masterworks: English 17th century clocks from private collections. London: Antiquarian Horological Society. Dawson, P. G., C. B. Drover and D. W. Parkes. 1994 [1982]. Early English Clocks: A discussion of domestic clocks up to the beginning of the eighteenth century. Woodbridge: The Antique 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 Ltd. Evans, J. L. 2006. Thomas Tompion at the Dial and Three Crowns. Ticehurst: Antiquarian Horological Society. Evans, J., J. Carter and B. Wright. 2013. Thomas Tompion – 300 Years: A celebration of the life and work of Thomas Tompion. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Walter Lane Publishing. Garnier, R. and J. Carter. 2015. The Golden Age of English Horology: Masterpieces from the Tom Scott Collection. Winchester: The Square Press. Garnier, R. and L. Hollis. 2018. Innovation & Collaboration: The early development of the pendulum clock in London. Isle of Man: Fromanteel Ltd. Neilson, M. 1977. ‘Important sideral regulator by Tompion & Banger’ in Antiquarian Horology, 214–216. Taylor, J. C. and K. Leith (with contributions by T. Phillipson). 2019. The Luxury of Time: Clocks from 1550–1750. Isle of Man: Fromanteel Ltd. Further Reading Lee, R. A. 1964. The Knibb Family, Clockmakers. Liverpool: Manor House Press. Roberts, D. 2003. Precision Pendulum Clocks: The question for accurate timekeeping in England. West Chester, PA: Schiffer Publishing.