The fine and slim oak case is set off with an inlaid star
pattern in the trunk door.
Each major panel, hood door, trunk, trunk door
and base, are outlined with walnut cross banding.
The brass dial is very nicely decorated, with a matted and engraved
center along with corner mounted brass cherub spandrels.
The silvered chapter ring has foliate
half-hour and half-quarter markers in the outer
band.
The arch, carries the lunar mechanism which is an elegantly
painted moon passing beneath a silvered signature plate signed
Edward Barlow Oldham.
The arch has a center indicator hand for the day of the lunar
month.
The calendar date is displayed through a window
shown in the center of the dial.
The original hands are blued.
The brass and steel movement is of eight days duration, with four
boldly ringed pillars.
Escapement is anchor recoil and the weights
are cast.
Striking is inside count wheel.
The front plate of the
movement shows the circular compass marks from Edwards
original layout for placement of the components.
About Edward Barlow of Oldham
Edward Barlow was the first member of the family working in Oldham
Lancashire to produce domestic longcase clocks, or grandfather clocks as they
have become known to us today. Edward Barlow was born in the year 1699.
His father was Henry Barlow, blacksmith and clockmaker. He was born in an
area of Rochdale known as Ladyhouse, today this area exists as part of Milnrow
which comes under the borough of Rochdale Lancashire.
Exactly what date and why Edward moved over to Oldham is not known, it was
probably quite simply the fact that he married a lady from Oldham and she did
not wish to live in Rochdale, so they set up home in Oldham.
There is a reference in the Parish Records to the maiden name of his mother
being Clegg, but I think this information has been incorrectly translated and has
become mixed up with the lady who Edward subsequently married.
The records that I have seen show his baptism as 'about 1700', and records show
Edward Barlow on a jury list of 1771 and states his age
as 72, confirming the year of his birth to be 1699.
On April 25th 1725 Edward Barlow married Anne Clegg at St. Marys Church
Prestwich.
Anne was born June 10th 1705 and her father was John Clegg.
Upon their marriage, Edward would have been 26 years old and Anne would
have been 20 years old. It is an interesting fact that many people from Oldham
did not get married in St. Marys church Oldham, but used St. Marys church at
Prestwich.
However they almost always used St. Marys church Oldham to
baptise their children.
Throughout their marriage, Edward and Anne had nine children, spanning a
twenty five year period.
The first child was christened Henry being born in 1728,
probably named after Edward's father and the last child Anne,
being born in 1753, when Edward was 54 and his wife Anne was 48.
Both these ages being substantial in years to be bearing child- ren today,
but quite common for these times.
The following is a list of baptisms recorded at St. Marys Church Oldham,
for children born to Edward Barlow of Oldham Clockmaker and his wife Anne.
Henry September 4th 1728 Named after Edward's father
Edward April 21st 1733 Named after Edward's grandfather
Mary February 21st 1738 Probably died young, hence fifth child named Mary
Benjamin July 14th 1736 To become a clockmaker of Oldham and Ashton
Mary April 7th 1738
Abraham November 6th 1741
Sarah September 21st 1743 Died Jan 25th 1782 aged 39
William November 18th 1748 To become a clockmaker of Ashton
Anne Mar 14th 1753 Named after Edward's wife
The following facts are extracts from the Annals of Oldham relating to
Edward Barlow:
In 1736 Edward Barlow repaired some candlesticks in St. Marys Oldham Parish
Church, the same year he baptised his fourth child in this church.
This demonstrates that he was not just a clockmaker but was a craftsman and an
engineer skilled in metal working, with a good reputation in the borough.
In 1743 he was made a constable for the borough of Oldham.
In 1750 he became a surveyor of the highways.
Both these highly regarded
positions show what a well respected man Edward Barlow must have been.
In 1753 he erected a weather vane on Oldham Parish Church tower, and the
accounts show that the costs for this work be divided between the following
townships :
Oldham one pound eight shillings and nine pence and one farthing
Royton fourteen shillings four pence and three farthings
Chadderton one pound one shilling and seven pence
Crompton one pound one shilling and seven pence
The total cost paid to Edward Barlow for the weather vane was four pounds six
shillings and four pence.
This would compare with a clock which he would sell for about two pounds and
ten shillings and would take him some weeks to complete.
In 1761 Edward Barlow became a churchwarden at St Marys Oldham
Parish Church.
In 1771 we find Edward Barlow on a jury list eligible to serve as a juror at the
Assizes or Quarter Sessions at the age of 72.
As well as participating in all of the above activities, Edward was quite a prolific
clockmaker, this being his full time occupation.
From what little information we can gather about Edward Barlow we can draw
our own conclusions.
It is apparent from notes regarding the weather vane and the candlesticks that
Edward was a gifted engineer, a craftsman and a man of great ingenuity.
He would have been a man who l ived his life to the full, keeping himself and
more importantly his mind busy at all times.
He would have been a man of high moral standards and a very well respected
man within the borough, hence he was both a constable and a churchwarden.
His ingenuity and clever mind would also have been well respected in the town,
these abilities giving him position as surveyor of the highways.
Edward Barlow would have been a man of property and considerable wealth,
both these factors giving him inclusion as a juror.
An interesting article on Oldham clockmakers has just come to my notice, of #
which I will transcribe and then comment upon.
The article is from The Oldham Chronicle January 16th 1904, and is headed:
OLDHAM CLOCKMAKERS.
INTERESTING PAPER BY MR. S. ANDREW
On Friday evening of last week Mr. D. F. Howarth read a paper, which had been
prepared by Mr. Samuel Andrew of Oldham, at the monthly meeting of the
Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society at Manchester, on the old clock-
makers of Oldham and the surrounding districts.
Mr. Andrew has favoured us with the manuscript of his paper, of which the
following is a copy.
The name of Edward Barlow is often to be found on our old clock faces,
and I am many times asked for some account of him,
seeing that his clocks are the oldest locally made clocks known in this locality.
Had this question been raised some years ago when local clockmaking survived
in Oldham and the vicinity as a trade, no doubt more satisfactory details
could have been given; as it is we must be content with such fragments of
information as a careless public, no longer surviving, have left behind them.
In the early days of English clockmaking, clocks paid 25% duty to the Inland
Revenue.
This was reduced to 10% in 1842 and further reduced in 1853, since then it has
been abolished altogether.
Edward Barlow was the son of Henry Barlow, of Ladyhouse within Butterworth in
the Parish of Rochdale.
His progenitor is believed to be the Mr. Barlow, the inventor of repeating
clocks and watches.
A repeating watch was first constructed by him in 1676.
What year Edward Barlow came to Oldham is not known, but his great grandson,
George Barlow, formerly of Greenhill, and at one time Mayor of Oldham, writing
to "Notes and Queries" vol.6, says "my great grandfather Edward Barlow,
was a clockmaker about 50 years, say from 1726 to 1776, and I believe him to
have been grandson of the inventor".
See Owens M.S.S. Some few of Edward Barlow's old clocks are still to be found in
quiet country places.
Mr. John Owen in his M.S.S. says at Abney Hall Cheadle, is a clock by
Edward Barlow Oldham 1767 with ornamental case and quarter moulding.
Mr. Giles Shaw, our respected member, has also an Edward Barlow
clock. Mr. Thomas Whittaker, late of Birch House, Lees has also one of these
clocks with a handsomely made case.
Mr. Newton Broadbent, of Hey, has also
in his possession a one weight cased 24 hour clock, bearing Edward Barlow's
name on the dial.
Mr. George Barlow in "notes and queries" for 1852 says, I have a spring
repeating table clock evidently of great age, which I believe to have been coeval
with the inventor.
It has neither name nor date on it, but as an Act of Parliament was passed in
1698 forbidding clocks to be made without makers name, the fair assumption
is that this clock is of a date prior thereto.
It has the old vertical escapement, and strikes the hour in full
without any chimes, but when wanted to repeat on pulling a string,
say at 25 minutes to eight o'clock, it will chime twice for the two quarters, and
then strike seven times for the hour.
This clock was prized by my father as a sort of heirloom, having been
the property of his father and grandfather.
The Mr. George Barlow here named was the second son
of William Barlow, Esq., of Rhodes House, Oldham, major of the old
Oldham Volunteers.
Mr. George Barlow was Mayor of Oldham, 1858-1859.
The Barlow family of Oldham seems to have had four members at least who
were known as clockmakers between 1726 and 1882.
Besides the Edward Barlow already mentioned in the annals of Oldham,
I find mention of James Barlow, clockmaker of Oldham, who was buried at
Oldham June 22nd 1788.
It is probably the same James Barlow living in 1744
and described by Mr. Erne
st Axon as being a brother of Edward Barlow.
In our local annals, mention is also made of Ben Barlow, clockmaker who died at
Cowhill March 25th 1788, and formerly kept the ancient Nagg's Head Inn, in
Oldham.
I also found a clock at the Swan Inn Lees, made by John Barlow Oldham.
Oak case cut short and one weight.
Besides these we have mention of Henry
Barlow, but the only trace I can find of his is on the face of a sundial which
formerly stood in the churchyard of Hey Chapel, without date.
The original family of Barlow seems to have come from Rochdale, were they were
settled during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, but according to E. Butterworth,
a branch of the family has been settled in Oldham ever since the reign of Queen
Anne. He says in his history of Oldham "Pawletts, situate near the top of Lord
Street, was in 1759 the dwelling
of Mr. Edward Barlow, whose ancestor living in 1702 possessed lands in Oldham.
" He further says "the descendants of this family were inhabitants
of Oldham in 1847".
COMMENTS
I find the above paper very interesting although a little misleading
and somewhat incorrect in parts.
It is good to discover other proof that Edward's
father was called Henry and in turn Henry's father was referred to as Mr.
Barlow the inventor of repeating clocks and watches.
The Mr. Barlow referred to
here would in fact be Edward Barlow 1636- 1716. To quote G H Baillie :
Barlow - Edward. London. b. 1636. d. 1716. Very able horologist. Invented
rack striking work for clocks circa 1676.
Also repeating work for watches in 1686 and a cylinder type escapement
in 1695 which was patented in conjunction with William Houghton.
This Edward Barlow was baptised Edward Booth and for some reason took his
wife's maiden name which was Barlow.
Britten quotes Edward Booth (Barlow)
1636-1716 as being from Manchester and working
in London.
So what we have here is a Barlow daughter from Rochdale or Oldham, not
forgetting that Rochdale and Oldham were towns next to each other separated by
fields of undefined boundaries,
marrying a young Mr. Edward Booth of Manchester who was a clockmaker.
They had a family and one of their children was christened Henry and at some
time Edward the clockmaker decided to move to London to
find fame and fortune in a trade which was in the times recognised in London but
very little in the provinces, especially with his new found invention.
He also for reasons unknown decided to change his name from Booth and take the
name of his wife, Barlow.
It is very possible that Henry was taught the trade of clockmaking by his father
Edward from a very young age and did not move
to London.
Henry in turn had a son who he named after his own father and who is
Edward Barlow Oldham Clockmaker.
He would most probably have been taught the trade
of clockmaking along with his brother John by theirfather Henry.
The sundial referred to above in the churchyard of Hey Chapel would be
attributed to Henry Barlow father of Edward Barlow.
The paper states that James Barlow clockmaker was the brother of Edward,
but this is quite impossible, considering Edward was born in 1699 and assuming
his brother would have been born within ten years, say 1709, and we have proof
that James Barlow clockmaker was fathering children in 1785.
The simple explanation is that they have mixed the names and James
should be John.
Another simple mix up is regarding information from the local Annals which
mentions Ben Barlow clockmaker, who died at Cowhill, March 25th 1788,
when we have proof that it was his wife Betty who died on this date and as
yet we have not found the burial place of Benjamin.
It is also mentioned that the Barlow family of Oldham had four members at least
who are known to have been clock- makers between 1725 and
1882, those mentioned are Edward, John, James and Benjamin.
The first three had all died by 1788 and Benjamin was born in 1736,
so had probably passed away by 1816.
Therefore I cannot understand
the date 1882 when relating to these members of the Barlow family but it is a
quite specific date and perhaps there
is some information regarding the family known by Mr. Andrew, but
not included in this paper.
Although William Barlow is not mentioned,
he was born in 1748 and one would assume that he
would have passed away by 1828.
Neither is Edward clockmaker son of James mentioned,
he was born 1779 and again we would assume to have passed away by 1859, so
it is possible that other members of the family were known to the
author including James born 1805 son of Edward and he was the generation of
Barlow clockmakers working to the date mentioned of 1882.
It is interesting to note that the Barlow family originates from Rochdale and
moved over to Oldham at a later date, I would suspect that some of the
Barlow's remained in Rochdale because I have traced a John
Barlow clockmaker of Rochdale who died in 1769 and a Thomas
Barlow clockmaker of Rochdale circa 1820.
I have never come across any longcase clocks made by the Rochdale side of the
Barlow family.
Benjamin Barlow had a son called Thomas who was
born in 1776 and may well have moved over to Rochdale and be the clockmaker
Thomas Barlow circa 1820.
There are no other recorded sons of Benjamin working as clockmakers and I
would have though that he would have wanted the tradition to be continued.
I would imagine that it is from these notes written by Mr S Andrew, that Mr
Giles Shaw derives his information for his account one year later on Oldham
Clockmakers.
The proof of information provided by this paper now finally expands the Barlow
clockmaking family to six generations.
Parish records confirm that Henry Barlow lived at Ladyhouse Rochdale and was
born 1665, and his wife, although no name is given for her was born 1669.
Another mistake proven by parish records is that Mr. George Barlow, the Mayor
of Oldham is not the son of a William Barlow as stated in the paper, but is the son
of Henry Barlow, an attorney in law, of Rhodes House Oldham. George Barlow
was born February 10th 1808, his mother was Mary
Barlow, formerly Dunkerley.
Henry Barlow the attorney
was born April 28th 1771, his father was also Henry Barlow and the first son of
Edward Barlow of Oldham.
This quite correctly makes George
Barlow the great grandson of Edward Barlow clockmaker as is said in George Barlow's
"Notes and Queries" vol. 6. Henry, son of Edward was a hatter of
Jackson Pit, Oldham.
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