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The museum has an interesting collection of historic tower clocks that have been restored by society members. These include the Church Hanborough Clock which is an example of the earliest form of pendulum, controlled by a crown wheel and verge pallet. Such an arrangement was not used in England before about 1660, and was soon superseded by the improved anchor escapement. This clock was probably made during the last quarter of the seventeenth century.
The Grimthorpe double three-legged gravity escapement was designed by Edmund Beckett Denison (later Sir Edmund Beckett and later still Lord Grimthorpe, although known as Denison throughout the building of the Westminster clock [Big Ben]). The design was so universally approved that almost all tower clocks after this period were constructed with this type of escapement as Lord Grimthorpe purposefully did not patent his idea so as to allow other clockmakers the freedom to copy his idea.
The Grimthorpe double three-
The St. Leonards clock from Eynsham was probably made about 1750 by John May of Witney and served well for some 200 years until being replaced in the 1970s.
The exact date of manufacture of this Turret Clock is uncertain but was probably around 1840. It is of the chair frame pegged construction with dead-
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