William J. H. Andrewes, Sundial Architect & Horological Consultant, Concord, Massachusetts
December 7, 2020
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For the Horological Society of New York’s (HSNY) final lecture of 2020, sundial architect and horological consultant William Andrewes discussed the overdue recognition of the contributions of John Harrison (1693 - 1776) to precision mechanical timekeeping and the dedicated individuals who continued Harrison’s legacy.
FINDING LONGITUDE
Before getting into Harrison’s horological heritage, Andrewes began with a retrospective on the early days of horology and detecting longitude. There were maps illustrating longitude from a 1549 manuscript from France and a 1482 creation based on Ptolemy’s geography. Also discussed were the proposals on determining longitude such as using lunar distance (Johannes Werner in 1514), the use of a timekeeper (Gemma Frisius in 1530), and the observation of the eclipse moons of Jupiter (Gallileo - 1610). Due to the substantial loss of life and cargo from shipwrecks, the British government was prompted to establish the Longitude Act to solve the problem of longitude with a prize of £20,000 (about $30 million today). The invention of the pendulum is noteworthy since it improved the precision of mechanical clocks from about 15 minutes a day to one minute a week. Also of note is the importance of the balance spring in enhancing precision. Because of the improvement in precision, the clock now became a legitimate scientific tool.
JOHN HARRISON (1693 - 1776)
Andrewes then turned his attention to Harrison and his horological creations. In 1713, Harrison’s foray into horology began with a tall case clock made of wood (with the use of oak for the wheels and boxwood for the pinions) which exemplified his livelihood as a carpenter. His ingenuity was displayed by using an oily wood called lignum vitae which eliminated the need for lubrication. Harrison’s ideas brought him to London and he made contact with the luminaries Edmund Halley (1656-1742) and George Graham (1673 - 1751). After receiving an interest-free loan from Graham, Harrison was on his way to building his first marine chronometer and his venture towards the prize for finding longitude. The H1 was completed in 1735, the H2 was completed in 1739 but smaller than H1, the H3 took 19 years to make. Between the H3 and H4, Harrison designed a pocket watch in 1752 that incorporated temperature and the H4 which was completed in 1759 and tested on the 1764 voyage to Barbados.
SAVING TIME
One would think that Harrison’s timekeepers would be considered as national treasures; however, they were all but forgotten within the walls of Greenwich. It wasn’t until Lieutenant Commander Rupert Gould (1890 - 1948) saw the mechanisms on March 5, 1920 (and dedicated himself to their restoration) that an exhibition was arranged in 1935 to display all of the marine chronometers: H1, H2, H3, H4 and H5. That’s rather incredible given that Gould was not compensated for the work (he was given the odd amount for expenses) and that Gould is not a trained clockmaker.
RENAISSANCE OF THE TIMEKEEPERS
Andrewes has been fortunate to work with timekeepers and curators of high regard throughout his horological career. Individuals such as Martin Burgess who established the Harrison Research Group; Colonel Humphrey Quill (1897 - 1987) who published “John Harrison: The Man who found Longitude” and continued the studies of Harrison when Burgess passed away in 1938. By Quill’s request, Andrewes got the opportunity to work on an unfinished wooden movement that Harrison started in 1720 and apprenticed under George Daniels who oversaw the project. The movement was completed in 1972 and was fitted with a purpose-built display case for exhibition in the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers’ Museum.
After diverging into engraving medals for the tercentenary of the Royal Observatory, Andrewes met Richard Good and Derek Howse (1919 - 1998). Derek offered Andrewes a job for three days a week to conserve the clocks at the Observatory, which in turn introduced Andrewes to Seth Atwood (1917 - 2010), the founder of The Time Museum, and to Marjorie and Roderick Webster, curators of the Adler Planetarium’s collection in Chicago. In 1976, Andrewes (along with others) established The Harrison Exhibition at the National Maritime Museum. However, the exhibition was thwarted due to publicity conflicts.
The listing below illustrates the other fascinating individuals that lead to other projects in Andrewes' horological career:
Len Salzer (1922 - 1990) was commissioned to make a replica of H1 with Charles Allix (1921 - 2015)
David Pingree Wheatland, founder of the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments (CHSI) that Andrewes oversaw as the curator from 1987 to 1999
Andrewes was finally able to give Harrison the recognition he deserved by hosting The Longitude Symposium at Harvard University in November 1993. Notable attendees such as David Landes, Alistair Cooke and Dava Sobel helped tremendously with publicity
Malcolm Leach (mechanical engineer) who built an exact reconstruction of H2 and was exhibited at Christie’s London in June 2005
Unfinished movement of Burgess clock “B” was acquired and moved from the shop with the help of Charles Frodsham & Co.
Derek Pratt (1938 - 2009) along with Frodsham & Co made a replica of H4
HSNY thanks William Andrewes for his fascinating lecture!
Submitted by Melody Benloss, Recording Secretary & Associate Librarian