Above and below - last night's supper. Ann said that the cheese souffle must be photographed as it came out of the oven, as after that it might sink. It didn't though (well, not noticably) and below picture shows my half of it on my plate, steaming away surrounded by broccoli and baked vegetables. DEELISH!!!
Below two photos show the clock I have been working on over the last few days. It is a very small single handed timepiece-alarm ( the chapter ring is only four and a half inches in diameter). It was made by John Spendlove of Thetford in Norfolk around 1760. It is a very good example of a small English lantern timepiece. It had had a mishap (fallen from a wall). So I had to reshape several parts, and completely rebuild one. Been satisfying work, but took rather longer than I'd reckoned.
The bottom picture shows an enlargement of the arch with Mr. Spendlove's signature thereon. Odd thing is that Ann had an elderly great aunt who had married a Mr. Spendlove from Norfolk. It's nice to think that the clock maker might have been a distant connexion. I must return it to it's owner now. It still lives in Norfolk.
11 comments:
I lived in Thetford for 35 years and never met a Spendlove! It has an interesting history, though, as it was once the Ecclesiastical centre of East Anglia but by the 18C had lapsed into decline and had a higher death rate than Whitechapel. Home of the Burrel Steam Engines and also the Patent Pulp Manufacturing Co Ltd (est 1879) where I used to work. It was one of the last places in the East to acquire mains drainage.
Rog, I seem to remember that in the fifties Thetford had rather a good museum, located in a half timbered house, and devoted mainly to flint and its uses; and to the activities (in the 19th century) of a character known as Flint Jack.
I think the surname Spendlove could also be pronounced (on the old Norfolk principle of confusing foreigners) as Spendlow or Spendelow.
See next entry - Tuesday 2, which illustates an enlargement of the dial arch and signature on the clock.
I wonder if Spendlove meant "careful with money"?
The ancient house museum in White Hart Street was there when I last looked
I would have thought it meant quite the reverse Rog - i.e. a love of spending? Although, as he was a Norfolk man....... yes, perhaps you're right.
Yes, that's the one, the Ancient House Museum. Glad it's still there. A lot of the older provincial museums seem to have closed. The Gershom-Parkington clock collection in Bury St. Edmund's, and the clock museum in Colchester are two good (or rather Very Bad) examples of this.
P.s. The clock museum in Colchester was called Tymperlies.
Bravo Ann!
Ann says 'Thank you, Pat'.
'
Just seen the info on the Spendlove clock. John was an ancestor of mine. I wrote an article in Dec 2010 for Antiquarian Horology on the Spendlove clockmakers of Suffolk and Norfolk. Check it out. Would like to add this clock to my database. Would it be possible to have some digital images of that clock please? I would be very interested in contacting the present owners. Can anyone help?
Thanks,
Trevor Spindler
PS Spendlove derives from being free with your love !!!!!!
Just read the info on the Spendlove clock. John was an ancestor of mine and I wrote an article in Dec 2010 edition of Antiquarian Horologist. Would like to add this clock to my database. Can anyone send me some photos please? Would also like to contact the current owner. Can anyone help?
Thanks,
Trevor
PS Spendlove derives from being free with your love !!!!!
Hello Mr. Spindler. As you'll have gathered I'm an antiquarian horologist, and therefore sometimes have in my keeping early clocks. This, of course, entails a duty of dicretion on me. I will pass your message, and request, on to the clock owners.
Is your name -Spindler - a form of Spendlove? As I think I said in that blog entry my wife had a great aunt who married a Mr. Spendlove of Norfolk. I think he was a Methodist Minister. The marriage took place about 1930 I should think, and as there were no offspring of the union, there is now, as far as I'm aware, no one of that name in our family. Thank you for getting in touch,
Yours sincerely,
Mike.
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