Moot Hall Lantern Clock
On the 24th August members of Bedford U3A local history group visited Elstow, the itinerary including a visit to Moot Hall. The hall was built in circa 1450 and for the last few years has been themed around John Bunyan and the 17th century.
During the visit it was observed that the Jacob Ford of Bedford Lantern clock, circa 1690, was not running and apparently had not run for many years. A member of the group offered to come back at a later date and have a look at the clock to see what was required to put it into running order. The subsequent visit discovered too many issues with the clock to resolve on site and an offer was made to take the clock away and restore it to going order.
In the workshop, before dis-assembly, the clock was checked for basic operation of both the going and striking trains, no major issues being apparent. The clock had not been serviced for many years and its condition can be observed in Figure 1
The clock was dismantled, cleaned, inspected, minor repairs carried out, re-assembled and oiled ready for testing. The pendulum rod had suffered damage in the past and was now too short. A small extension was inserted to bring the pendulum to the correct length for good timekeeping.
When Jacob Ford made the clock in circa 1690 it would have run with a short pendulum on a verge escapement but as happened to most Lantern clocks of the period it was converted to long pendulum on an anchor escapement in the 18th century. The conversion has left a number of unused pivot holes in the cruciform, which can be seen in figure 6. Due to the gearing selected for the conversion the pendulum is not one second, as per normal, but 0.975 seconds: the pendulum therefore being slightly shorter than the normal 39 inches. When initially received the clock's Chapter ring, the one on the dial with the numerals on, had no silvering, as this fades to nothing over time, so this was re-silvered.
The clock is now back in Moot Hall, Figure 2 and hopefully will run for many years if looked after. It is not normal these days to run a clock of this age permanently and it is already well worn; additionally, it requires winding every day. Therefore, it has been suggested that it is only run when the hall is open. Additional advice on looking after the clock was provided. Look out for the clock next time you visit Moot Hall.
Nigel Platt