Audlem Clockmaker?

I am repairing a long case clock for a friend.

The clock is by John Harrison of Audlam. Although John Harrison of Barrow on Humber (Longitude Harrison) is arguably the most famous clockmaker in the world, I was going to tell my friend that John Harrison of Audlem / Auldlam is unknown to history.

That is until I spotted Celia Bloor's article from 19th December 2017 – Old Book Found in Roof

She wrote: "A book of calculating tables printed in 1785 has been found tucked away in a crack between roof beams in an old cottage in Audlem. The inscription is John Harrison, Audlem, Cheshire 1805."

The clock is an 8-day long case with a painted dial signed "JNo Harrison Audlam". The clock movement (works) is substantially unaltered since it was made around 1800 and appears to be in its original case.

The movement has been hand made at a time when factory production had already started in Birmingham.

This is evidenced by the fact that the front plate of the movement still bears not only the marks of the and from the mould in which it was made, but also the scribe marks which the clockmaker has used to lay out the wheel trains. The dial is a factory produced item sold by W H Price of Birmingham, a watchmaker who dealt in clock materials. The dial is attached to the movement by a cast iron "False Plate" which were used in this transitional period to easily attach a standard bought-in dial to a one-off hand-made movement. Both the false-plate and the calendar wheel are stamped "W. H. Price Birmingham".

The case will probably have been made by a local cabinet maker and is of oak with mahogany inlay and boxwood stringing. This case is interesting for two unusual features. The hood has a frieze above the dial, which is painted, not carved wood, and the metal ornaments at the top and bottom of the case pilasters and hood columns are not brass, but spelter with some traces remaining of the original fire gilding. Both of these features would have given the case a costly appearance at for a modest price.

John Harrison of Barrow upon Humber is one of the most famous clockmakers of all time; having in his youth made longcase clocks of previously unheard accuracy; then in old age and after a long struggle, finally been fully rewarded by the Admiralty 1773 for his invention and perfection of the marine chronometer.

However, his namesake John Harrison of "Audlam" remained unknown to history, that is until the discovery of the book as described in Celia Bloor's article

I would be really grateful if Celia Bloor could contact me with more details of the book.

Many thanks,
Richard Stuart

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