Samuel Knibb Samuel Knibb produced superlative clocks during the 1660s and was among a small group of innovative London clockmakers at the forefront of early pendulum clock design.[1] Only five signed clocks by Knibb are known. Each one is of the highest quality: beautifully decorated and technically complex. Their rarity and significance cannot be overstated. So few of Knibb’s clocks survive because he died just 7 years or so after establishing his workshop in London. Sadly, he was one of the scores of victims who were killed by one of the last waves of plague to ravage the city.[2] During the time that Knibb was active in London, he made use of a confluence of connections and appears to have worked with some of London’s leading clockmakers and designers. Knibb was also a senior member of the famous Knibb clockmaking family, and it was he who first established the Oxfordshire family’s name in London. His design precedence certainly set the standard of excellence seen in later productions by younger members of his family, particularly his younger cousins, Joseph and John Knibb, who followed in his footsteps.[3] Within a few years of Samuel’s death, the Knibb family of clockmakers firmly established itself as one of Britain’s most important clockmaking dynasties. What follows is what we know of Samuel Knibb’s beginnings and an account of his bright but brief career in London. Beginnings: some 55 miles north of London Samuel Knibb was the third son of John Knibb (b. 1595, d. 1663), a yeoman from the village of Claydon in Oxfordshire England. It is not known where Samuel learnt his craft, but he appears to have established himself as a clockmaker by 1655 in the market town Newport Pagnell, in Buckinghamshire England, some 55 miles north of London.[4] It also appears that his younger cousin Joseph joined him there, possibly as an apprentice, and received his training from Samuel between 1655 and 1662. In 1662, Samuel went to London to work in Westminster, and Joseph returned to Oxford, embarking on his own illustrious clockmaking career.[5] Samuel appears to have established himself as a London clockmaker rather quickly, as he was made a Free Brother by redemption of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers by 1663. By 1665, he was making expensive clocks and was associating with a vibrant network of makers and designers. Evidence for these connections is discussed in detail below. Knibb also managed to take on two apprentices before his death.[6] The first was George Tipping who took up his seven-year apprenticeship with Knibb on 16 January 1664. Tipping was eventually turned over to clockmaker Francis Bicknell and became a Freeman of the Clockmakers’ Company on 1 June 1674. The second apprentice was John Miller, who was bound to Knibb on 14 January 1666. Knibb died before Miller completed his eight-year apprenticeship. Joseph Knibb, who took over Samuel’s business upon his cousin’s death, took Miller on for the remainder of his training. A handful of superlative clocks The five known clocks by Knibb are indeed rare and significant survivals. Each one occupies a special place in the historical record. The first is an architectural ebony table clock made around 1665.[7] Its dial is exquisitely engraved with flowers (a dog rose, tulips, lilies and daisies) in the corners and a Tudor rose in the centre. This whimsical design also included a delicately engraved dragonfly in the top left corner. This clock’s existence only recently came to light in when it came up for auction at Bonhams in London on 9 July 2013.[8] It was probably originally purchased by a Captain James Avery (b. 1620, d. 1700), who had emigrated to America from England with his father in 1630. Avery appears to have taken his Knibb clock to America not long after it was made. It remained in the Avery family until being put up for auction in London. James Stratton, the Director of the Bonhams Clocks Department, reported that this Knibb clock was the highlight of this 2013 auction, which attracted buyers from around the world.[9] It sold for almost half a million pounds. The second Knibb survival is the spring driven table clock currently on display in the Clockmakers Museum at the Science Museum London (Clockmakers Museum No. 559, Object Number: L2015-3444). It was made around 1666 and uses a half-hourly, Dutch striking system.[10] The simple, clean architectural lines of its black ebony case perfectly frame its silvered chapter ring. Exquisitely rendered floral engravings cover the entirety of the gilt metal dial plate, adding a further level of beauty to this clock. The third survival is the Samuel Knibb Cupola Clock, which recently debuted on 11 November 2025 as an exhibit on Clocktime.[11] Typical of Knibb, it is of the highest quality and was made around 1665. It is just one of two existing early British clocks designed in this distinctive ‘cupola clock’ format, the other being designed by the pioneering clockmaker Ahasuerus Fromanteel, who was active in London from the 1620s through 1670s. Knibb’s Cupola clock design also intriguingly illuminates a confluence of associations between Knibb and Fromanteel, as well as the architect John Webb. For example, Knibb’s cupola clock followed Fromanteel’s movement design and incorporated Fromanteel’s construction forms. It is also probable that Webb designed the theatrically elegant, neo-classical architectural style cases of both cupola clocks. Additionally, Knibb and Fromanteel’s cupola clocks were both purchased by the Chute family within a very short time of one another. And, finally, Webb was also known to the Chutes, as he was commissioned to build a portico for their country home.[12] The nature of these connections is further explored below, and you can read more about the ongoing debate surrounding the design precedence for the two cupola clocks here. The fourth surviving Knibb clock is an exceptional architectural longcase known as The Windsor Castle Knibb.[13] Made around 1665, it was probably commissioned by King Charles II and has been described as a ‘technical and aesthetic tour de force’.[14] It uses a highly sophisticated three-train movement, which strikes the hours and quarters, and its dial features a chapter ring faced with solid silver. This beautifully proportioned longcase is also veneered with Princes Wood (also known as Kingwood), which is an extremely refined hardwood sourced from South America – a rare and expensive import. A label found inside the Windsor Castle Knibb’s case states: This clock was given to his Librarian Mr. Attwood by George IV from Windsor Castle, afterwards it was taken by Attwood to the Bodleian Library ….[15] This suggests that this clock was part of the royal collection through the 19th century. Then, at some point, after the royal family gifted it the University of Oxford’s Bodleian Library, it found its way across the Atlantic and appears to have spent much of the 20th century in private collection in America. Recently, it was brought back to the UK where it now resides in private collection. The final and fifth Knibb survival is an unassuming but unusual miniature longcase also made around 1665.[16] It has a very early anchor escapement regulated by a ten-inch pendulum that swings every half second. [17] For the clock’s ebonised architectural case, Knibb used expensive imported hard wood, pearwood, which would have been imported from central and eastern Europe.[18] The clock’s dial features a solid silver faced chapter ring and gilt corner spandrels. The spandrels are further evidence for an association between Knibb and Fromanteel and are discussed below. For two weeks during September 2018, all five Knibb survivals were displayed together for the first and only time as part of the exhibition Innovation & Collaboration: The early development of the pendulum clock in London. The exhibition took place at Bonhams, New Bond Street in London and was curated by the horologist and antiquarian, Richard Garnier.[19] A confluence of connections Upon his arrival in London in 1662, Knibb would have found himself in the heart of a vibrant, bustling, international community of eminent makers and thinkers. This community had only just recently come into its own. Although the creative industry of clock- and watchmaking had been percolating along in various areas of London since the 1500s, it was during the 1660s that London emerged as the clockmaking capital of the world.[20] This was also when clock- and watchmakers cemented their place and status in a newly invigorated wider scientific community. Two significant developments certainly contributed to this phenomenon. They now had their own guild, The Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, which was chartered in 1631 by King Charles I. And, thanks to the founding of the Royal Society in 1660, they also began rubbing shoulders with the most eminent polymaths of the day. All this facilitated a culture in which makers and thinkers kept abreast of one another’s work, engaged in discourse and travelled in the same circles. After his arrival in London, Knibb embraced this culture and became part of an impressive network of makers and designers who all participated in a dynamic and symbiotic (mutually beneficial) exchange of knowledge. This is exemplified by the fact that Knibb’s influence can be observed in the work of his colleagues and vice versa. While collaborations of various forms certainly took place during this time, the absence of evidence such as invoices and contracts, renders the exact nature of business relationships and arrangements between Knibb and other makers and designers unclear. Also, horological inventions and advancements rarely sprang forth fully formed from the mind of just one person. To some extent, technological advancements were almost always informed or at least indirectly influenced by more than one person, often organically via discourse and sometimes through active collaboration.[21] There are also cases in which horological innovations resulted from an amalgam of ideas of different makers, such as the invention of rack striking.[22] And, there are also cases where two individuals working independently produced the same or similar inventions around the same time.[23] The fact that early clockmakers, such as Knibb, rarely if ever dated their clocks also makes it difficult to trace and date the development of refinements, innovations and inventions. All this also makes it extremely fraught when trying to prove precedence for a design to a specific maker during this period. Yet, at least, we can confidently identify clear associations between Knibb and several makers and designers. Knibb and Fromanteel As mentioned above, the foremost evidence for a connection between Knibb and Fromanteel is that Knibb followed Fromanteel’s movement design and construction forms.[24] In terms of decoration, for his miniature longcase made around 1665, Knibb used what looks to be the same gilt corner spandrels used by Fromanteel for two of his early box clocks, which were produced in the late 1650s. To compare Knibb’s spandrels to Fromanteel’s, see an image of Knibb’s spandrels in the Innovation and Collaboration Exhibition Guide, Exhibit No. 56, and images of Fromanteel’s spandrels on the Fromanteel Pendulum Box Clock exhibited on Clocktime.[25] Knibb also shared Fromanteel’s flair for the dramatic. As early as 1657, Fromanteel began producing architectural clock cases that were engineered to theatrically reveal a 360° view of the inner mechanism. For an example, see the Denton Hall Fromanteel Table Clock exhibited on Clocktime. Knibb engineered a similar spectacle for his Cupola Clock design by installing hidden buttons on top of the case. When pressed, the front and back doors of the case opened. The cupola itself was also designed to be lifted away to unveil the clever engineering of the bells and hammers within its cylindrical structure. For the ultimate reveal, Knibb also designed the entirety of the case to be lifted off, allowing unfettered access to the clock’s movement. This was pure Fromanteel-style theatre. In terms of movement design, Knibb also adhered to the Fromanteel school, which used a method in which the pillars are riveted to the backplate and latched to the frontplate, as seen in Fromanteel’s Norfolk Fromanteel Longcase exhibited on Clocktime.[26] Knibb’s use of the Dutch striking method in two of his clocks, the Cupola Clock and his spring driven table clock made around 1666, also suggests an interest in Dutch horological technology. In terms of access to Dutch technology and, more broadly, the latest cutting-edge horological developments, Fromanteel was the ideal connection in London. Fromanteel, who was from a Dutch Protestant family, had longstanding ties to the Continent, where he cultivated a strong clientele and network of international makers, artisans and engineers. He was the first and only clockmaker during this period to establish a thriving international business, with offices in London, Newcastle and Amsterdam. As such, he was part of a prominent and influential circle of Dutch Protestant makers and scientists. This circle included the Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens, who invented the design for the first domestic pendulum clock. Huygens’ pendulum clock was prototyped in 1656, and by 1657 he had contracted the manufacture of such designs to Salomon Coster, a clockmaker in The Hague with a local patent. That same year, Fromanteel sent his son John Fromanteel to The Hague to work under contract with Coster and aid the production of Huygens’ first pendulum clocks. Later that same year, John appears to have returned to London to work in his father’s Southwark workshop in London, where he shared his newfound knowledge of Huygens’ technology. By 1658, Fromanteel had manufactured the first pendulum clocks in England, which he famously advertised in that year’s 25 November edition of the Commonwealth Mercury (Mercurius Politicus) News. By the 1660s, when Fromanteel and Knibb probably started working with one another, the Fromanteel school and the East school (the movement making methodology of Edward East), was widely seen as the pinnacle of pendulum clock movement design. Knibb, Fromanteel and Webb Knibb also appears to have gained access to Fromanteel’s professional network in London, as there is strong evidence for the mutual association of Knibb, Fromanteel and the English architect John Webb. This is primarily based on obvious similarities between the design of Knibb and Fromanteel’s cupola clock cases. At the time, Webb was famous for designing buildings and homes that incorporated elements of classical Greek architecture. He was also no stranger to clock case design and appears to have been making cases for Fromanteel since the late 1650s.[27] Fromanteel probably hired Webb to design the case of his Denton Hall Fromanteel table clock, which was produced around 1657, and the architect may have also designed the case of the Norfolk Fromanteel Longcase, made around 1660. Further establishing a link between Knibb, Fromanteel and Webb is their mutual and irrefutable connection to the aristocratic Chute (or ‘Toot’) family.[28] Firstly, the Knibb Cupola Clock was bourght by the Chutes and, at some point, ended up being housed in their country house, known as The Vyne, in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England.[29] Secondly, by 1670, Fromanteel’s cupola clock had also been purchased by the Chutes and housed in their London residence.[30] Third, Webb was commissioned by Chaloner Chute I (b. around 1595, d. 1659) to design the classical Palladian portico at The Vyne.[31] Webb’s portico was added to the front elevation of the house in 1654. Finally, Webb had also recently worked at Chevening House in Kent, for Chute’s second wife’s stepson, Lord Dacre. Thus, successive generations of the Chute family employed Webb and appear to have commissioned Fromanteel and Knibb for a pair of expensive cupola clocks with Webb cases. Knibb movements in others’ clocks There is also a possible link between Knibb and the clockmaker Henry Higginson, who was also professionally active in London during the 1660s. This is based on similarities between Knibb’s architectural ebony table clock made around 1665 and Higginson’s architectural striking table clock made around 1668.[32] The two clocks have similar movement patterns and case details. Higginson’s clock also has a removable pediment similar to that included in Knibb’s spring driven table clock on display in the Clockmakers Museum at the Science Museum London (Clockmakers Museum No. 559, Object Number: L2015-3444).[33] Based on the above, horologists Dr John C Taylor, Ronald A. Lee, and Jonathan Carter think it a likely scenario that Higginson ordered his clock from Knibb before Knibb’s death, updated it and then sold it on with his own signature. There is also the possibility that Knibb may have made the movement for an architectural table clock made by East during the 1660s. This clock just came up for auction at Bonhams in London. [34] To all intents and purposes, this clock, signed by East, appears to be typical of the great maker. However, upon inspection, the movement ‘bears multiple hallmarks associated with Knibb’ when compared to his other clocks (listed above), such as its split front plate and Knibb-style hammer spring and potence, as well as the rendering of its back cock which is secured by a single screw.[35] The practice of one maker making a movement for another maker is not unusual. There is ample evidence of makers purchasing or subcontracting movements made by other makers. The spectacular Gilt Cubic Table Clock by East and Fromanteel (exhibited on Clocktime) is a case in point: its movement was likely made by Fromanteel, yet East felt comfortable signing it.[36] By the 1690s, the hugely successful clockmaker Thomas Tompion had capitalised on this practice with great success. 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.[37] The use of Knibb movements by other well-established and illustrious clockmakers not only strongly suggests the possibility of collaboration between Knibb and the above makers, but it also supports the premise that Knibb was indeed a leading light in the development of early pendulum clock technology. This evidence also opens possible avenues for further study of Knibb’s design forms and potentially adds to the short list of Knibb survivals. Knibb and Sutton Knibb also worked closely with Henry Sutton, one of the finest instrument makers of his day. The two may have even shared a workshop space at some point after Knibb initially set up his premises on Threadneedle Street. In 1664, Sutton and Knibb collaboratively produced a calculating machine for computing trigonometric ratios (Science Museum in London, Object number: 1872-136). This complex and expensive machine exemplifies the technical sophistication of Knibb and Sutton’s work and is also a sublime example of the story of collaboration between instrument makers and clockmakers. At the time, instrument makers were part of the London clockmaking ecosystem and were regulated by the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers. There is also the possibility that it was Sutton who ‘executed the necessary dividing and engraving of chapter and minute rings for Knibb.’[38] Sutton also may have been part of the wider Knibb-Fromanteel network, as his workshop may have been providing engravers to the Fromanteel workshops. Finally, the most poignant connection between Sutton and Knibb is the shared nature of their deaths. Sutton also appears to fallen victim to the Great Plague of London, probably dying in late 1665. Carter suggests the division engravings on Knibb’s Cupola Clock ‘could conceivably have been one of the last jobs executed by Henry Sutton.’[39] Unfinished business The exact date of Knibb’s death from plague is not known. It is likely to be around 1670, when his affairs appear to have been settled by his younger cousin Joseph. One gets the sense that he died suddenly, because there was no will, and clocks were left unfinished in his workshop. Samuel’s death must have caused a certain amount of chaos within the family, as they were forced to take quick and decisive action. In Joseph and John’s case, the death of their cousin altered the course of their lives. At the time, Joseph was firmly established in Oxford as a clockmaker and successfully running the family business. Immediately following his cousin’s death, Joseph moved to London, leaving the Knibb Oxford workshop in the hands of his younger brother, John. Upon arrival, Joseph assumed responsibility for Samuel’s workshop. A wildly talented maker in his own right, he began building on Samuel’s success and appears to have been immediately absorbed into Samuel’s network. Still, there were challenges. While still a locus of knowledge and innovation, the London that Joseph first encountered was reeling from the combined effects of the Great Fire in 1666 and the Great Plague, which hit the city in waves between 1665 and 1670. These events had disrupted the clockmaking market, severely limiting the availability of clockmakers (as they were dying) and making scarce the materials they needed, particularly brass. Joseph and the wider clockmaking community found that it was cheaper and more feasible to use and adapt existing parts than it was to make new ones. Taylor suspects that Joseph made clock parts from Samuel’s workshop available to Tompion, who was then a newly arrived clockmaker, based on similarities between the castings and parts for two clocks from the Knibb workshop to those of the Olivewood Tompion Table Clock, made by Tompion around 1673 and exhibited on Clocktime. The Olivewood Tompion is the earliest known surviving clock made by Tompion, who first appears in London during the early 1670s. He was at the start of his career and not yet an established London clockmaker. It is doubtful that he would have had access to the kind of financial credit available to him later in his career. To make a name for himself, he had to be pragmatic as well as ambitious. He appears to have turned to his new friend and colleague, Joseph Knibb, for help. Tompion may have used a collection of partly finished wheels from Samuel’s workshop for the manufacture of the Olivewood Tompion’s movement. Tompion also appears to have used and adapted case parts as well as a chapter ring from Samuel’s workshop. His clock also bears a striking resemblance to the Silver-mounted Ebony Case Clock on a turntable base made by Joseph around 1673 (coming soon to Clocktime). His salvaging of parts from the deceased clockmaker’s workshop was a pragmatic response to the scarcity of materials at the time. Legacy and new beginnings Although Samuel Knibb’s bright talent burned all too briefly, his legacy lived on through the Knibb family of clockmakers. Within a few short years, Joseph became one of the most widely respected clockmakers in London. Brilliant, talented and inventive, he pushed the boundaries of horological technology as he strove to produce clocks that were more accurate for less cost. He also developed an instantly recognisable, timelessly beautiful design aesthetic. Impressively, Joseph went on to produce over 400 clocks over the course of his long career, maintaining a high standard of quality and beauty throughout.[40] Two of these are exhibited on Clocktime; see his Walnut Marquetry-Parquetry Longcase made around 1675 and his Roman Striking Table Clock dated 1677. Today, he is widely considered to be one of history’s most important clockmakers. If not for Samuel’s death, would Joseph have remained in Oxford, running the family business? If he had, would he have had access to the resources, knowledge and labour that enabled him to drive horological technology and design forward to the extent that he did? Would John, who was also an extremely talented clockmaker and who went on to become Mayor of Oxford, have flourished in the same way working under his older brother? We will never know. Whatever the case, it was Samuel’s technical excellence, theatricality and eye for beauty that set a precedence of design for the entire Knibb family of clockmakers. It was also he who established the family’s foothold in the London market, and he who probably trained Joseph. Considering this, as well as the integrity and beauty of his surviving designs and the fruitfulness of the creative relationships that he cultivated during his short time in London, one cannot help but wonder about how much more he could have contributed to horological development had he lived a bit longer. Dr Kristin Leith, Curator of Clocktime November 2025 End Notes [1] Lee 1964. [2] According to the National Archives, the Great Plague of London between 1665 and 1670 killed 15% of the capital’s population. [3] Joseph Knibb was born in 1640 and was 15 years younger than his uncle, Samuel. Joseph was the son of Thomas Knibb (b. 1600, d. 1675), who was the brother of Samuel’s father, John Knibb. Joseph’s younger brother was John Knibb (b. 1649, d. 1722). [4] Newport Pagnell is in the parish of Milton Keynes. The town is most widely known for having the only remaining manufacturer of vellum in the United Kingdom. Vellum is an animal skin or membrane used since the medieval period as pages for writing in scrolls and codices. [5] Lee 1964, 203. [6] Register of Apprentices 1931, 199 and 286. Note that the record for Miller’s apprenticeship lists the master as ‘Samuel Knebb’. [7] Garnier and Hollis 2018, 208–211, Catalogue No. 46; Taylor 2018, 18, Exhibit No. 46; Taylor 2018, 18. [8] From Bonhams, New Bond Street, London press release, 9 July 2013. [9] Ibid. [10] Garnier and Hollis 2018, 212, Catalogue No. 47; Lee 1964a 206; Taylor 2018, 18, Exhibit No. 47. [11] Carter 2022, 58–69, Catalogue No. 9; Darken 2003, 74–79; Dawson 1965, 71–75; Ende et al. 2004, 82–85; Garnier and Hollis 2018, 213, 216–217, Catalogue No. 49; Hurst 1969, 151–153; Lee 1964, 53, 73, 102, 118 & 147. no.13, pl.35-40; Lee 1964a; Taylor 2018, 19, Exhibit No. 49. [12] Carter 2022, 64-69; Garnier and Hollis 2018, 222–225, Catalogue No. 51; Taylor 2022, personal communication. [13] Bowett 2002, 45, pl. 2:18; Garnier and Hollis 2018, 222–225, Catalogue No. 51; Lee 1964a, 206; Lee 1969, pl. 91; Taylor 2018, 19, Exhibit No. 51. [14] Garnier and Hollis 2018, 222. [15] Ibid. The Bodleian Library is the main research library of the University of Oxford. It opened on 8 November 1602 and was founded by and named for Sir Thomas Bodley. It is one of the oldest libraries in Europe and is the second largest library in Britain, after the British Library. The Bodleian Libraries now comprise a group of 23 libraries that serve the University of Oxford and are open to staff, students and other readers. https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/home [16] Garnier and Hollis 2018, 232–233, Catalogue No. 56; Taylor 2018, 20, Exhibit No. 56. [17] Taylor 2018, 11, Exhibits Nos. 19 and 20. [18] Pearwood has historically been favoured for use by architects and stringed instrument makers. [19] Garnier and Hollis 2018, Catalogue nos. 46, 47, 49, 51 and 56; Taylor 2018, 18–20, Exhibit Nos. 46, 47, 49, 51 and 56. See https://www.clockexhibition.org.uk. [20] Notable clockmakers and artisans lived and worked in specific areas of London since the 1500s, principally Fleet Street and its environs, such as the unregulated Ram Alley. Ram Alley was a tiny alley, just seven feet wide, that ran south of Fleet Street, opposite Fetter Lane. During the 16- and 1700s, it was a rough place, ‘inhabited chiefly by crooks, bawds, tobacco-sellers and ale-house keepers’ (Sugden 1925, 426). It is described by Walter George Bell (1912, 252) as being ‘of evil association, perhaps the most pestilent court in London’. This is because Ram Alley was a place of sanctuary; any activity that took place there was unregulated, and anyone on the alley could claim immunity and enjoy freedom from arrest. Alternatively, Fromanteel established his workshop in Southwark, and, not far from there, highly skilled Huguenot and Dutch Protestant makers had a long history of working in the Blackfriars area, a virtual hub of making. In Ram Alley, Southwark and the Blackfriars quarter could employ foreign workers and steer clear of regulation from the various guilds. You can read more about Huguenot contributions to clockmaking in London here [21] For example, there is ample evidence of collaboration between clockmaker Thomas Tompion and polymath Robert Hook from during the 1670s, see the Tompion exhibit on Clocktime. [22] Robey (2005, 17) convincingly argues that the development of the rack striking mechanism, widely credited to the Reverend Edward Barlow in 1676, more likely came out of ‘an amalgam of ideas by Barlow, Tompion, Joseph Knibb and Hooke’. [23] For example, in 1675, polymath Robert Hooke and scientist Christiaan Huygens laid claim to the invention of the balance spring while working independently. [24] Carter 2022, 64. [25] Garnier and Hollis 2018, 232–233, Catalogue No. 56; Taylor 2018, 20, Exhibit No. 56. [26] Taylor 2018, 15. [27] The survival of over 200 of Webb’s original drawings and designs, which include designs for clock cases, supports this premise. Garnier 2018, 81–113, esp. 106. [28] Carter (2022, 64–69) posits that Knibb’s Cupola clock was purchased by Chaloner Chute II around 1665 and housed in the family’s country home known as The Vyne. Fromanteel’s Cupola Clock was purchased around the same time and housed in the Chute’s London home by 1670, based on an advertisement from The Post published on 29 June 1700. [29] Carter 2022, 65. The Knibb Cupola Clock’s has been placed at the Vyne based on marks made in 1901 by a clock repairer by the name of A. Porter of Basingstoke. It remained in the Chute family until the 20th century. The Vyne is now a property of National Trust England. It is described as ‘a Tudor powerhouse turned 17th-century family home, set in gardens, woodlands and wetlands’. See https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/hampshire/the-vyne. [30] An advertisement from The Post published on 29 June 1700 confirms the Chute’s London residence as part of Fromanteel’s Cupola Clock’s provenance. The advertisement announces that the clock was stolen from Mr. Chute’s house at the upper end of Bedford Row, near Grays Inn, and describes the clock accurately, with an ‘Ebony Case of about a foot square, made in the form of a house, with a brass urn at the top of each corner, and a Cupola with a cupid upon the top of it of brass gilt.’ [31] Carter 2022, 64–69. Webb’s design was also the first portico added to an English house. In January 1659, Chaloner was elected the Speaker of the House of Commons. He died in February of that same year. [32] Carter 2022, 86, Catalogue No. 12; Garnier and Hollis 2018, 208–211, Catalogue No. 46; Taylor 2018, 18, Exhibit No. 46; Taylor 2018, 18. [33] Carter 2022, 86, Catalogue No. 12; Garnier and Hollis 2018, 212, Catalogue No. 47; Lee 1964a 206; Taylor 2018, 18, Exhibit No. 47. [34] For more information on the East architectural table clock with a possible Knibb movement, see Fine Clocks auction, Lot No. 75, 2 December 2025, https://www.bonhams.com/auction/31095/lot/75/a-very-fine-and-rare-third-quarter-of-the-17th-century-architectural-ebony-table-clock-with-science-museum-exhibition-provenance-edward-east-london-the-movement-attributable-to-samuel-knibb/. [35] Ibid. [36] Taylor thinks that East probably had nothing to do with the making of the clock and offers a more plausible scenario for why East felt comfortable signing it. At the time, East was Master of the Clockmakers’ Company while Fromanteel was not yet a Free Brother and was thus officially unable to sign his own work. East perhaps exploited his status as the Master of the Company and signed the clock as he did because he could, while Fromanteel was debarred from taking credit for his work in that way. However, around 1656, Oliver Cromwell bought a clock from Fromanteel for £300 and intervened with the Clockmakers’ Company to force them to promote Fromanteel as a Free Brother. When the clock was returned to Fromanteel for service, he then engraved his own signature by cutting through the gilding. [37] Carter 2022, 202 and 203. [38] Carter 2022, 58; Taylor personal communication. [39] Carter 2022, 58. In a letter dated 10 October 1665, from Robert Moray to Henry Oldenburg, Moray writes ‘wee all here [in Oxford] are much troubled with the loss of poor Thomson & Sutton’. [40] Lee 1964, 204. References Anonymous. 2013. Bonhams Press Release: ‘A very rare third quarter of the 17th century architectural ebony table clock’ (9 July 2013). New Bond Street, London: Bonhams. https://www.bonhams.com/press_release/14094/ Bell, W. G. 1912. Fleet Street in Seven Centuries: Being a history of the growth of London beyond the walls into the Western Liberty, and of Fleet Street to our time. London: Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons. Bowett, A. 2002. English Furniture from Charles II to Queen Anne, 1660 – 1714. Woodbridge Suffolk, UK: Antique Collectors Club. 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. 1965. ‘The Cupola Clock’, in Antique Collector, April: 71–75. 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. Garnier, R. 2018. ‘The Fromanteel Architectural Early-Pendulum Clock Case (c1660–c1673)’ in Garnier, R. and L. Hollis (editors). Innovation & Collaboration: The early development of the pendulum clock in London. Isle of Man: Fromanteel Ltd. Garnier, R. and L. Hollis. 2018. Innovation & Collaboration: The early development of the pendulum clock in London. Isle of Man: Fromanteel Ltd. Hurst, M. 1969. ‘The First Twelve Years of the English Pendulum Clock’ in Antiquarian Horology 6/3: 146–56. Lee, R. A. 1964. The Knibb Family, Clockmakers. Liverpool: Manor House Press. Lee, R. A. 1964a. ‘The Knibb Family, Clockmakers’ in Antiquarian Horology 7:4, 202–209. Lee, R. A. 1969. The First Twelve Years of the English Pendulum Clock (loan exhibition catalogue). Sugden, E. 1925. A Topographical Dictionary to the Works of Shakespeare and His Fellow Dramatists. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Taylor, J. C. 2018. Innovation & Collaboration: Exhibition guide. Isle of Man: Fromanteel Ltd. The Worshipful Company of Clockmakers. 1931. Register of Apprentices. London: Privately printed for the Company.
