A rare and potentially important early English wooden-framed turret clock movement Anonymous, believed to have been supplied to Greystoke Castle, Penrith, early 16th century or later The single-plane wooden frame enclosing three-wheel trains with both the wooden-cored capstan-wound barrels set within the centre section, the upper for the strike train fitted with ring-braced pins for the pivoted hour hammer lever to rim and pinion for driving the internal-toothed countwheel positioned within the adjacent compartment, the locking wheel separately driven by the greatwheel below with locking enabled by pair of pivoted levers (formerly interconnected) applied to the vertical frame member between, the lower barrel for the going train (formerly with verge escapement regulated by foliate balance) now driving a brass second wheel (probably mounted onto the original verge escape wheel arbor) and anchor escapement with external crutch for regulation by long pendulum, the opposite end of the going greatwheel arbor fitted with a flag for releasing the strike train, (lacking fly, strikework release detents, pendulum, lines and weights), the frame 147cm (58ins) by 128cm (50.5ins). Provenance: Hand-written correspondences included with the current lot anecdotally account the clock having been moved from Greystoke Castle to the village church (St. Andrews) for safe keeping after a fire, where it remained for a substantial period of time before being disposed-of (most likely during the 1980's) by a subsequent vicar (for scrap!). The mechanism was fortunately saved (apparently from the tip) and offered by the locally-based owner through Peter Shirley of Chatham in 1996. The clock was acquired by the late John Hooper at around this time and was subsequently inherited by the current owner. GREYSTOKE CASTLE The History of Greystoke Castle can be traced back to the 1120's with the building of a house by Llyulph (de Greystoke) on lands re-granted to him after the Norman Conquest. In 1244 the manor received Royal Charter to hold a weekly market and yearly fair, and by 1300 was in the hands of John the first Baron of Greystoke who had been summoned to parliament by writ. The house subsequently went through at least two phases of enlargement including castellation after permission was granted in 1346 by Edward III. The succession continued unbroken until 1506 when the property passed to Elizabeth de Greystoke who, being a minor and ward of the King in the custody of the Earl of Cumberland, was not able to take the manor until her subsequent marriage to Lord Dacre of Gisland. It was at this time that the House went through a third phase of building. In the 1520's the Greystoke estate passed into the ownership the Howard family through the marriage of widowed Lady Anne Dacre to Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk. To ensure that the Greystoke estate remained in the hands of the Howard family, the Duke took in as minors Anne's three daughters who were later to marry three of his sons. During the Civil War Greystoke Castle was defended in the name of the King only to fall to a detachment of General Lambert's Army who subsequently placed a battery in the park above the castle. It has been traditionally suggested that the castle was then burnt down on the orders of Cromwell. However, The Lady Mabel Howard in her 1924 article published in the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archeological Society's Transactions (Vol. XXIV) firmly asserted that this was not the case. Notwithstanding this the fortunes of the Castle and estate took time recover however, by the mid 18th century, wealth and prosperity had returned to the extent that renovations and enlargements were able to take place in 1789. The castle was again remodelled in 1838-48 by Anthony Salvin however, in 1868, a maid left a lighted candle in a cupboard full of linen and the consequent fire gutted significant parts of the castle. The damage was subsequently repaired and restored in the 1880's by Henry Charles Howard apparently mainly using materials salvaged from the building or in and around the estate. During WWII the castle was requisitioned with the estate used for battle tank training, and the building for the detention of prisoners of war (mainly Polish Nazi sympathisers). After the war the castle was found to be in a bad state hence significant restoration work was undertaken in the 1950's; it is still maintained today still under the ownership of the Howard family. THE PRESENT CLOCK MOVEMENT Placing the current lot within the context of the history of the Greystoke estate it would seem that it would have most likely been made during the first few decades of the 16th century when the Castle was going through its third phase of building under Lady Elizabeth Dacre. The clock would then have remained in-situ until the fire in 1868 when it would have been removed to the village Church for safe keeping. These possibilities appear entirely plausible on the assumption that the castle was not comprehensively destroyed during the Civil War. It is also interesting to note that the Lady Mabel Howard infers that the fire of 1868 mainly affected the areas which had been subject to the 1838-48 rebuilding. This would suggest that some of the older parts of the structure may have escaped damage hence why the clock would have survived this particular event. When considering the current movement as an object there are many features which would suggest an early date. The first is the decoration seen on original forged wheels with the finely finished crossings incorporating chamfered edges with the countwheel also having three bands of perpendicular 'collars' filed to each spoke. This degree of finishing is highly unusual in a large turret clock movement and the 'Gothic' nature if the decoration is indicative of an early date. Secondly the strike mechanism appears to have been made with no provision for 'overlift' (in respect to the operation of the strike locking detents) despite having a locking wheel, and the train may also not have had any form of warning. From the surviving mechanism it would seem that the strike train would have released via a lever engaging with an arm positioned on the end of the going great wheel arbor. This lever would have in-turn tilted the pivoted locking flag (attached to the wooden frame behind the locking wheel) and released the train. At the same time a second flag, via a connecting rod with the first, would have been pivoted away from its resting position in one of the slots in the countwheel. As the strike train runs the second flag would prevent the first from relocking the train due to being held in raised position by the rim of the rotating countwheel. Only once the countwheel has rotated enough for the next slot to appear, thus allowing the second flag to drop-in, would the strike train be arrested fully by the first flag also engaging with a pin on the warning wheel. Whether the mechanism has warning or not would seem to depend on whether there would be enough tolerance to allow the countwheel flag to be raised clear of its slot whilst the locking wheel flag has still yet to clear the pin on the locking wheel. The only way to establish whether this system of warning is possible would be by experimentation once the rod that connects the two flags has been reinstated. Read more in the page turning catalogue via the link here. Condition Report: Condition reports for this lot are available from the Clocks Department upon request (clocks@dreweatts.com). Condition Report Disclaimer