The Statesman.
London, England, 1820-03-02 00:00:00

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.1111704 VP.CLOCK .

The invention of clocks, such as are rinw iu sm, is
ascribed to Pacibeus, Archdeacon of Verona, who died
in MI. Clocks were first known in Baglaud in INS.
.1 hey were ultimately improved by the application of!
pendebenw iii-1411i, by Hymn% a Dutch astronomer ,
and mathematicials. Although Beckmann differs in
some slight degreLhoni the previous relation concern-,
ing clocks, yet-be4pys, vol. i. p. 483, " It is !Sufficiently
apparent that awls, moved by wheels and weights,
began certainly to be used in the monasteries of Europe,
ab,rut the eleventh cesium" He does not think, how-
net, that Europe has a claim to the honour of the in-
vention, hut that it is rather to be ascribed to the Sara-
cens. This conjecture, be confesses, is chiefly supported
I e what Trinomial' tells us of one which was sent to
de Sultan of Egypt by Frederick 11. in le:12. Ile
thinks the writers of that century speaks of clocks as
t' cough they had been then sell known he adds, that in
the flth centurs, mention is made of the lesachene of
Richard de Wallingford, which has hitherto been consi-
dered as the oldest clock known.
It appears that clocks had been hitherto shot up in
ittonasteries and other religious houses. and that It was
cot till after this time they were employed for more
geweral purpose's, as the convenience of cries. The first
t-stasce on record that has been yet 'mired occurs
where Hubert, Priore of C , caused the first clock, •
that was ever publicly exposed, to be erected at Padua,
as Peter Paul Vergers'ss informs us. iforelugiens vito
per diem el mortise feetror et er!eiori Aoroi nm spatia
11104 if •11111 drsigarregtar, il4 an ni,sfa jurij sontri(oro.
cam remelt." It was erected h% James Dosetle, whose
family afterwards, in consequence, had the prunuenen of
liorologio assigned to 'hem.
From the Chronica Jliscella Ilutioniensis may be
learnt that the first cluck at Bologna was put up in the
rear 1358, " A di veto di .fprils fig tulle ria lit raintona
grosra della tor's, eh'erd di ifcrisrr Gio-
vanni Signor di Bologna.
Some time after the year 136-1. Charles V. surnamed
the Wise, King of France. caused a large cluck to be
placed in the tower of his palace. by Henry de Wyrk,
whom he had invited kolas liermany,• because there was
then at Paris ass artist of tha: kind, and to whom Ise as-
signed a salary of six suls per diem, with free lodging iu
the tower.
Towards the end of that century, probably about 13711,
Str.ssissergh had a limit : an arrount of which was ren-
dered by Conrad Hasypoiliess. in lac. sun tionir:slesovns
1:;•ass and Stress. Cho onik. p. 574.
Abontihe same period. t ourtray was celebrated fur its
r:ock, which the Duke of Burgundy rattled away, 5000
1:12. This circumstance is related by Froissart, an ate-

na.ist and contemporary writer.
Lehmann says a ricilie clock was er..eted at Spire,
anon 1395. in the Altitt:rg gate, the nulls of which
clock cost 31 florirs.
The greater part of the principal cities of Europe,
owevet, at this period, Lad clocks without striking.
&docks could not be procured but at a very great rx-1
prose : of this an Instance occurred in the citv of Anx-
rere. in the real I 1!,13, when the 51agistrates being de-;
s•roits Of a Clock, but d;scovering that it 551)1111 co.!
Plore money than they tlioaelit themseives jii.titied in
expending on dolr von authority, applied to the I:111-
pt:or Charles VIII. for IraVe to etoplo) a portion of the
funds fur that purpose. 1
Ju 1462, a public cluck was put up in the church of
the l'irgiu 31aty, at Nitrinberg.
At Venice, a politic clock was put gip in 1197. In
the same centstry, i. r. I.lt, 1, 311 ext•ell-nt clock was put
up fvr Cimino sic Medici, liv Lerenro. a FlOrenfille, 111101
I' as described by liu'.itian,.o a letter to his If:05,1 Francis
Casa.
Thus we have mentioned their first origin in Africa.'
A• ia, and Europe, until they came to (inutile:it the re- i
i•s4.en7rs of the reli4ious, the palaces of Kings, and the
chief European cities. It now temains for to: to take
*Jule notice of their exi-dritee in our own native land
ha public use. From the ilornments we posses, it ap-
pears, that so great was their ccprtise considered in
ti:trie early times of their existenee, that it was only the
puwerfell and the rich nho etwild I rot ere them. Con- 1
*intent with our design, we discover that the first clock
a a public na nre and tar lay purposes, in England.
I' as one erected on the north side of Old Palare-yard,
•' estininster, cro which was the inscription, Mate
moniti ; which inscription is •ai.l to have
I P.ll preserved many years after the tlock-house hail
keen decayed.
It is asserted that this clock was placed in that %Pota-
tion, for the purpoie of being heard by the Courts of
LW; and the uccas:on which produced its exis;etwr
is
this reenr,led. It was the mance of a line levied upon
liadnlphns tie Henghaln. Lord Chief Justice of the
Conn of king's Bench, in the reign of Edward the
First, anno 12.5 h, of whom it appears. by a hook called
" The Year Book,' that this lagottrate had 111'01 tine:l
tOil marks for nealeng an alteration in a record, where-
ty a poor dependant toot here lined and he, the
Chief Justice, male it appear to be tis. old., instead of

th•at the IftrEer sum. •
Notoriety, howetcr, was attached to this transaction, i
from the faiiinwinK rireatinstatves it arrears to •
• ?•aire been one tat three questions ;nit by Itichnial 111.
to
Pt 3udges, with whom he was closet's! in the lamer I
1104.1.1 amber. to take their opinions on three points of
ha. The seconi question was, " Whether a Justire of
the Peace, who had enrolled an indictment. which had
• item Negatived lay the Grand Jury, among the tree bills,
might be punished fur the abuse of his office?" (In
• this qtwatten a diversity of opinion arose among the
indite% mote of whom supposed a Magistrate could not.
be prosecuted for what he might have dunes whilst
others contended that he might. anti cited the case of
flenghaut • so far was the answer of the Judges strictly
roper and true; The second circumstance
a io ort ck we have alluded. and which is most material to
•
• • t question. is the construction of a clock.
91
'erected on the north side of Uhl Palace-
t the had es barristers, and student. could
•11„ It • • • •
• u leave the Hall, without haring an opportu-
nity o • reminded of the punishment of the mer-
ciful Oenghant•for persnminr to violate the impartial
di of his high other ; nor could they even hear it
• strike, whilst upon the Hawse of justice. without basing
his case repeated in their ears ; thereby acting as a ron-
• slant remembrancer, intimating they were to administer

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ja.tier more than mercy.
Sir Edward t:bke oleterves, that the tt(I0 marks were
At wally entered upon the Hull, OA lilat it is extremely
probable he had himself seen the record.—lorritermi.
p. 255.
This clock was considered so import-Int (hiring the
reign of Henry VI. that •we find the rave the
t tiarge of keeping it, widths appnrtrilances, to tVillisne
Wart.y. Dean of St. Stephen'.. with the pay of sixpence
er diem, to be received at the exeliegner.—(See Stow's
Ireetioinafer, vol. ii. p. 55.)
The clock of St. //Eros's. Oxford, was also N116%14041
in 15ti, out of tines imposed upon the students of that
university.
With respect to the clock from liengham's.tior, we
mast also observe, that its motto sppeern to.telate to that
eirenmstance; bat though it may be >Giul • that it might
relate to a dial, us well as to a clock. a material tamer.
vation to our present inquiry, yet with respell to its pre-
s4ist appearance, it should be noticed, it is probable that
clock was a very indifferent one, but, from its antiqnity,
and the tradition attending it, aV. permitted to rem: in