Solid mahogany George III Period Welsh longcase clock
signed John Fernhill (probably John Fernal), Wrexham

This is a provincial interpretation of the Northern English "Lancashire Chippendale" form of longcase clock, with a fine and early painted dial and an attractive lunar dial.

Case: The solid mahogany case is well-proportioned and nicely detailed, with painted panels under the scrolls of the hood echoing the glass panels often used in fine clocks from nearby Liverpool and Chester in England. The hood and trunk use reeded columns, and the canted corners of the base are also inset with reeded panels. The base has a raised, moulded panel in the front. Feet, finial, and the lower section of the backboard are restored.

Dial: The 13 inch wide painted dial uses old English roses in the spandrel corners, and is mounted with a falseplate from Osborne's Manufactory, Birmingham. The lunar dial has some restored areas, and the world maps on the lunar dial opening are restored. The black numerals have been retouched, and the dial is otherwise original. Hands are blued steel, apparently original.

Movement: Fernal's brass and steel movement is eight days' duration, four pillar construction, with hourly rack striking on a single bell. It uses an anchor recoil escapement and cast iron weights. The pendulum uses a paint-decorated iron bob, a touch usually found on Scottish or northern English clocks.

Maker: Errors in "signatures" are rife on clocks, watches, and instruments. The dial of this clock is signed John Fernhill, almost certainly a misspelling of John Fernal, who was known to have worked in Wrexham, Wales, as a clock and watch maker from as early as 1770 to as late as 1789. Peate's book of Clock and Watch Makers in Wales shows that a watch made by Fernal is in the Welsh Folk Museum.

Circa 1785
7' 4" High
No. 1537