the William and Mary Marquertry long case clock come in for restoration recently, the case had been in the family all of its life , since the day it was commissioned in 1682 . The case was commissioned by Nathaniel Bond KS (14 June 1634 – 31 August 1707), of Creech Grange in the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, was an English lawyer and Member of Parliament. And was made by Edward bird. Up until April 2019 when the family estate was put up for sale , after the death of its last owner in the family Major General Mark Bond . The case was bought by the present owner and was given the case to me to restore back to its former glory.
The case was built in oak and veneered with walnut veneers, with floral Marquertry up the front of the case . Unfortunately the case at some point had fallen over, causing some Significant damage to the case . This had been repaired in the past, but wrongly using the wrong style of mouldings and plinth . The Marquertry was damaged and some of this would need attention during the restoration
My first job was to tackle the base , removing the plinth and timber used to construct this and return back to original height with 4 new turned Walnut bun feet. At the same time the veneer was repaired around the Marquertry. The Marquertry it self was damaged and would need me to inject fresh glue underneath the veneers. As theses had dried out and were beginning to fall apart . Some of the black back ground veneers were damaged and would require me to repair and replace areas were they had been filed with filler.
Once all the repairs were carried out to the base , I could turn my attention to the trunk and door , this would require the mouldings to be made from cross grain English walnut. The moulding were made during previous restoration , but weren’t cross grain, and wrong for this period of furniture . The door had some Marquertry missing in it and would require some patches cut and fitted in to the areas . Theses would be levelled down at a later date. The veneers were loose and would require some ironing down and some glue to put under the veneer in places . The door had the hinges fitted to the door and the door fitted back to the clock . Just to make shore everything was ok with the new mouldings .
The hood was next , with the Marquertry being repired around the door and the filler removed from this and replaced with veneers. The hood had of the moulding changed again for cross grain mouldings . Then I could turn my attention to the blind fret that was missing . This was designed and drawn on some solid walnut before being cut on the fret saw and cleaned up before fitted to the hood
The columns to the front and rear of the hood were completely missing and would have to be made . Theses were to barley twist and made again from walnut. They would be turned on the lathe and needed to taper as they go up the hood. The barley twist was done after turning by hand. Once I was happy I could then cut out quarter of the column , so this would allow it to sit around the corner of the hood . Each column was different as the twist was in opposite directions. Theses were cleaned up after being fitted and the back columns were taken from the peace that was removed when cut on the saw . The hood still retained it original caddy top and this would require the missing blocks added with the turnings to be done for them.
The case was then ready for me to start cleaning the old polish and dirt from the surface, this was washed of with methylated Spirit and wire wool as this would lift the dirt from the surface and wash it into the new repairs and help to age them up . The case was then lightly sanded to remove any little bits before the first French polish was applied . Then I could colour out the repairs to the black ebonised veneers around the Marquertry . Afterward the case was French polished and new repairs coloured out to match the old veneers. The case was left for a few days , allowing the French polish to sink into the wood before a final body of polish was built up. The case had the top and bottom columns gilded along with the finals then the case was then waxed . The door had a old peace of glass fitted that had a few bubbles in the glass as the other peace was a replacement one . The case was know finished and just ready for the movement to be done .
The history of the clock made by Edward bird for sir Nathaniel Bond In 1682
William and Mary Marquertry long case clock
One of the rarest marquetry clocks on the market today, Circa 1685. By Edward Bird, Londini Fecit (Exchange Alley)
Believed to have been commissioned by Sir Nathaniel Bond (Kings Serjeant) in 1683 (research still ongoing) less than a dozen clocks are known by Bird
The movement is one of the finest ever seen with SIX fully latched pillars, inside countwheel and original pierced polished bell.
I based my restoration on bird mainly but also used Joesph knibb for research as they work in the same area and were around the same time, with his movement showing signs of Joseph knibb design .
Joesph knibb is known of one of finest quality clock makers of his period . And it turns out that he worked in London but his family originate from calverton and moved to oxford then London before he tried to hanslope village from were he was buried in side the church . Which turns out isn’t far from The workshop .
clock was commissioned by Sir Nathaniel Bond, King Charles II and William III’s Sergeant.
commissioned and case designed in 1682 and was finished in 1684…. wasn’t far out with the dates… superb pedigree it turns out and it was handed down by Nathaniel Bond through generations to Major General Mark Bond
Edward Bird is an elusive maker; although there is no record of him in the Clockmakers Company archives, there are approximately 8 known longcase clocks dating from the last 20 years of the 17th century that bear his name
Nathaniel Bond KS (14 June 1634 – 31 August 1707), of Creech Grange in the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, was an English lawyer and Member of Parliament.
Creech Grange, Dorset
Bond was the fourth son of Denis Bond, a prominent politician during the Interregnum, succeeding to the family estates at Lutton after all his elder brothers died without male heirs, and also in 1686 buying the neighbouring estate of Grange which subsequently became the family seat.
He was educated at Oxford University, awarded a fellowship at All Souls College, matriculated from Wadham College in 1650,[graduating B.C.L. in 1654, and incorporated LL.B. at Cambridge University in 1659.He proceeded to the Inner Temple, where he was called to the bar in 1661.Making his career in the law, he was a barrister and King’s Serjeant. He entered Parliament in 1679 as member for Corfe Castle, and subsequently also represented Dorchester in 1681.
On 21 December 1667 he married Elizabeth Churchill (b. 1648/9 d. 1674).His second marriage, on 3 August 1675, was to Mary Browne (d. 1728), widow of Thomas Browne of Frampton and daughter of Lewis Williams of Shitterton, and they had two sons:
The Bond family were displaced from Tyneham House, their home for over 250 years, in 1943. They made this sacrifice to enable the expansion of Lulworth tank ranges in preparation for D-Day landings. The Bond family moved permanently to Moigne Combe after they were informed Tyneham would not be returned to the family, a devastating realization.
It has been suggested that a Bond family ancestor, rumored to be an Elizabethan spy, may have inspired the titular character of Ian Fleming’s famous books. The Bond family motto is ‘non sufficit orbis’, which translates as “the world is not enough”. This is James Bond’s fictional family motto in The World Is Not Enough. Fleming attended Durnford Preparatory School in Langton Matravers, Dorset, close to the Bond family home.
The late Major General Mark Bond was the last member of the Bond family to live at Moigne Combe. General Bond had an illustrious military career; he enlisted as a rifleman in 1940 following the Blitz of London. Major-General Bond served at the Battle of El-Alamein and the capture of Tunis. In 1943 Mark Bond was taken as a POW but managed to pull off a daring escape from his transport train. He was only recaptured after trying to steal supplies from the Germans. Major-General Mark Bond also served as aide de camp to Field Marshal Montgomery, NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander in Europe 1950. A letter from Field Marshal Montgomery thanking Mark Bond for his service is present at Moigne Combe. During his fascinating life he had a distinguished military career,
Daniel Chapman antique furniture conservation and restoration 