A message from Clocktime's creator Good morning It was a pleasure to meet Lewis Walduck from Bonhams, who visited my home and clock collection recently and took an interest in the bronze cannon that stands outside Arragon Mooar. As John Harrison is my horological hero, I was intrigued to discover that a magnificent bronze cannon produced for the French Fleet between 1669 and 1683, was later acquired by HMS Association. The cannon was then integrated into the armament of the ship. The barrel was inscribed with the word Vigo, the broad arrow of British Ordnance and the number VIII. In 1707, returning from their campaign in the Mediterranean through the Straits of Gibraltar to England, the squadron, led by the Association, sailed to the North across the Bay of Biscay. When they thought they were in the English Channel they turned east towards Portsmouth. With no way to determine their longitude, the squadron were actually still in the Atlantic but now running before a gale towards the Scilly Isles. During the night of 22nd October HMS Association was wrecked on the outer rocks with the loss of her entire crew including her Captain Edmund Loades as well as Admiral Cloudesley Shovell and his two stepsons. Also lost were three other naval ships, HMSs Eagle, Romney, and Firebrand. In total about 2,000 men perished. The catastrophe caused by the inability to find longitude at sea caused a public outcry. After much deliberation, Queen Anne’s government set up the Board of Longitude in July 1714 offering a prize of £20,000 for a method that could determine longitude within 30 nautical miles on a voyage to the West Indies. This huge cash inducement spurred many attempts to win the prize including John Harrison who laboured over a period of 60 years making his three large sea clocks before the success of his masterpiece watch H4. In the 1960s, durable objects including gold and silver coins and several bronze cannons were discovered by the Outer Gilstone Rock and recovered from the seabed. I acquired this particular cannon in 2009 and then commissioned a new English oak gun carriage to replace a 40-year-old broken structure. It was installed in front of Arragon Mooar on Trafalgar Day 21st October 2011 and has been successfully fired when celebrating significant birthdays! Speaking of events, may I take this opportunity to wish you a very enjoyable Easter! You may like to discover more about the story of John Harrison here.
