Wall Clock: Rare English 8” Fusee Drop Dial Timepiece by James Brownbill c.1840

We offer for consideration, this outstanding 8” fusee drop dial timepiece from the very early Victorian period. The Clock Is Only 34cm High (or 13.5"), About The Size Of A Bottle Of Wine, so a very rare, diminutive item! Made by master clock and watchmaker James Brownbill, who in 1840, was trading from 25 Earl Street, Liverpool. Born 1801, it is believed that Brownhill served his apprenticeship under well-documented Liverpool master clockmaker Thomas Green. By 1837 a local trade directory listed Brownhill as being at 10 Richmond Row, Liverpool, as a clock and watchmaker, which is duly supported by the 1841 census records. Yet in the 1851 census, he is listed as living and trading from 19 Richmond Row, Liverpool (a misprint or a location move?) Brownhill’s uncle, Robert Simpson, was also an established watch and clockmaker, trading from 5 Market Place in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire and upon his death in c1849, James took over Robert’s shop, from where he continued to live with his family and trade until his own death on 14 April 1868, aged 68. (Records state, that the shop was "...On the west side of Market Place and included outbuildings and a garden"). (Nb: Brownhill also had a son called James Jr., who was an apprentice to his father at Poulton-le-Fylde. He later became a watch repairer based at 6 Prussia Street, Liverpool). The beautifully hand-crafted flame Mahogany cabinet work incorporates creative brass stringing and intarsia, the case has excellent age patination and retains its original, hand-carved fanned side-ears. The drop box includes a side inspection door and a lockable and operable hinged regulator door in the clocks narrow-moulded base. The original 8” convex metal dial has painted black Roman numerals with Brownbill’s details, finished with its original pair of blued Antique Breguet hands secured with a pinned collet, all protected by a thick convex glaze mounted in its cast brass bezel. The clock benefits from a fully functional 8-day single fusee driven movement with shouldered plates and turned pillars, complete with its original brass pendulum rod and bob. Payment - We Accept: - Debit / Credit Cards. - Bacs Transfer (Faster Payments). (Our bank details are on our invoices).