A good 18th century West Country lantern clock
Edward Bilbie
Surmounted by a boldly turned finial at the centre of a fancy bell strap with pierced mid sections, four further matching finials flanking the engraved armorial frets depicting a lion and unicorn around a shield, over a pair of side doors and iron back plate, the finials, pillars and bases each cast as one piece, with the top and bottom plates 'keyed' into them. The Roman chapter ring with fancy half-hour markers and inner quarter-hour track, signed Edw Bilbie fecit below XII within a ring of floral scroll engraving framing a plain centre, with original brass single hand. The weight driven movement with verge escapement with short pendulum terminating in a turned brass bob, and countwheel striking on the bell above. Together with a later wall bracket, a large, cylindrical lead weight, sales invoice from 1974 and a copy of Moore, Rice and Hucker 'Bilbie and the Chew Valley Clockmakers', 1995. 43cms (17ins) high
Footnotes:
Provenance:
Purchased by the vendors mother from Meyrick Neilson Ltd, Tetbury, April 1974
'..Lantern Clock by Edward Bilbie, Somerset. £1,200. '

The Bilbie family's horological contribution spanned the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Edward Bilbie (I) was born around 1666, he began his working life as a bell maker in Chew Valley and went on to add clocks to his repertoire circa 1694, possibly after attaching himself to the famous Webb family of horologists.
The current clock is featured on page 234 of its accompanying book, Bilbie and the Chew Valley Clock Makers. It is signed Edw Bilbie fecit, which makes assigning it to a particular Edward Bilbie difficult, as all four generations of Edward are known to have signed clocks in this fashion. It is further complicated by the fact that, outside urban areas, clocks would not follow the same fashion trends as those made in cities. It is known as well that birdcage movements would be used on clocks after the 1790's in the Chew Valley.