Marine chronometer numbered 216/33501, by Robert Roskell. A two-day full-plate fusee movement. Four pillars, all fixed with blued steel screws. The fusee has stop-work and Harrison's maintaining power. Earnshaw-type spring-detent escapement. Compensation balance with helical balance spring.

Mounted in three-tier box, push-catch for lid and lock for upper half. Upper half has a strut limiting opening to 90 degrees. The box fittings are standard, with surface-mounted handles on the sides, brass gimbals and a ratchet winding key. The lock is surrounded by a shaped brass insert. The top of the lid has a paper label marked 'A'. Inside the lid is pasted an old paper museum display label. On the front of the lower half is a plain round ivory tablet. There are four flat round feet underneath the base of the box.

Silvered brass dial with Roman numerals and a large seconds dial having Arabic ten-second figures. The dial is inscribed in the centre 'Chronometer By Rob't Roskell Liverpool 216/33501'. The chronometer is in fair condition.

This was used as 'Chronometer A' on board the world-famous cruise liner, RMS Queen Elizabeth II (the QE2) on her maiden voyage in 1969. The QE2 was the last steamship to cross the Atlantic before her engines were converted to diesel in 1986-87. She used radio navigation with the chronometer as back-up. She remained flagship of the Cunard Line until 2004.


NMM CHRONOMETER CATALOGUE DATA ENTRY

MIMSY NO: ZAA0122

Robert Roskell, Liverpool c.1825 No.216 / 33501
Brockbank & Atkins c.1840 No.956

1 day marine chronometer (Roskell) in mahogany box (B&A)

Robert Roskell…

Brockbank and Atkins…

Box/Mounting


Three-tier, plain mahogany box measuring 200mm high, 200mm wide, and 190mm deep. The lid of the box, which is a later replacement, has butt hinges allowing it to open to 90° only. The coarsely grained mahogany lid has stuck to its upper surface at the rear left a paper adhesive label marked “A” and inside a large paper label reading: “R.M.S. “QUEEN ELIZABETH 2” / Chronometer No.216/33501 by :- / Robert Roskell, / LIVERPOOL. / This “one day” chronometer is circa 1825. Robert Roskell was in business I both in London and Liverpool between 1796 and 1830. / For many years this instrument lay damaged in a cupboard in premises occupied by Christie & Wilson (Nautical Opticians) in the Broomielaw, Glasgow – this area was one of the main berths for sailing ships during the 19th century. It had been in the possession of Mr. Humphreys – a well known Glasgow chronometer maker in Clyde Place, Glasgow during the middle 19th century. At some time during the last century it was repaired by a Mr Duncan of Buchanan Street, Glasgow but nothing is known of this firm. / The escapement is unusual in that the escape wheel has thirteen teeth and the seconds hand does not turn in “half second” steps i.e. the normal chronometer makes 120 “half second” steps per minute – this instrument makes 130 steps in every minute. The balance wheel vibrates 15,600 times per hour – 374,400 times daily. / The chronometer is from the collection of Lieut. Commander D.H.Harries of Glasgow, Scotland by whom the escapement has been almost completely rebuilt”. The front of the upper half has a push button brass lid catch without escutcheon. The lock on the lower half is inlaid with a brass scalloped-corner rectangle escutcheon and a circular ivory tablet currently without inscription. The rear of this tablet however is engraved: “ ↑ / Brockbank / & / Atkins / 956” and the inside of the turned sink in the upper half is inscribed in pencil and also in ink:”956”. The lid opens to a glazed panel retained with a narrow mahogany beading. The box fittings are mostly standard, with brass drop handles and rectangular brass plates for the gimbal screws on the sides. The inside of the box is strengthened at the base with thick mahogany quadrant fillets down both sides, fixed with three brass screws from the outside. An upstanding beading round the inside of the upper edge of the lower half, mates with a rebate in the opposite edge in the upper half, forming a dust-seal when closed. The interior fittings are mostly of standard layout except that the later rising-ratchet winding key is mounted on a quadrant-section block at the rear left corner, and the brass strut, limiting opening of the box to 90° (also probably a later addition) is on the right hand side in the box. The underside of the box has no green baize covering, but the box now stands on four round rubber feet.



The lacquered brass gimbal ring, which is in a somewhat redder shade of brass and probably dates from the 1960s, unites the 1820s movement & bowl to the 1840s box.

The straight-sided bowl has a flat base with a simple quadrant6 moulding at the edge and a plain hole for winding. The straight-sided, narrow, brass screw-down bezel (3 ½ turns) has an ogee moulding on the upper surface, and a thick, bevelled convex glass over the dial. On the rebate which forms the dial seating in the bowl is scratched: “33501”, and on the outside of the bezel is scratched: “Duncan Buchanan St”. The winding hole has two plugged holes next to it where a dust collar of some kind was attached, and there is another plugged hole in the base of the bowl, probably for fixing a locating spring for a washer associated with the dust collar.

Dial and hands

The 110.7 mm Ø, engraved and wax-filled, silvered-brass dial is fixed to the pillar plate of the movement with three feet, riveted to the dial and attaced through the pillar plate with three steel screws (dot-marked for position) on the movement side. The dial has roman hour numerals and small arabic five minute figures, and there is a seconds dial at IV o’clock having Arabic ten-second figures with straight batons at alternate five-second intervals. The dial is signed below XII: “CHRONOMETER / -- BY -- / Robt. Roskell / Liverpool 216 / 33501”. The dial has been scratched on the back: “33501” and: “D.H.Harries / Chronometer Restorer / Glasgow & Rode (Bath) / 1970”. The dial back is also stamped with three dots. Blued steel spade and poker-hands with a fine, blued steel pointer seconds hand with a counter-poised tail.

Movement

Full-plate fusee movement with four pillars with flanges and fins at either end and one fin in the lower middle, the potence plate fixed with four blued steel screws. The blued steel set-up click has a blued steel spring and is punched underneath with a large single triangular dot and two small round dots. The polished steel wheel has dots on its upper surface for orientation on the square (notch also on a corner of the square) and for identifying the set-up position. The winding square has a notch for orientation of the pipe and a blind hole on the square for a fixing screw for the pipe (pipe now missing). There are two round dots turned (with small sinking tool) on the underside of the balance cock foot, the barrel, the potence foot, the potence plate, the train bar, the fusee bridge and on the upper surface of the pillar plate. The great wheel has two lines punched on the inside and a cross is scratched inside the fusee and under the fusee stop hook. The underside of the potence foot is scratched: “501”. The later, unsigned blued steel mainspring has a square hooking. There is a four-wheel train and a great wheel, the fusee with Harrison’s maintaining power. The steel maintaining power spring is screwed into the great wheel. The blued steel maintaining power detent is stamped with a single round dot. The train wheels are brass with the third, fourth and escape wheels run on a bar on the pillar plate and the lower fusee pivot run on a small bridge. All train holes have been plugged and re-pitched from new, as well as the maintaining power detent. There is a small hole in the pillar plate below the balance centre.

Escapement, balance, spring and jewelling

Earnshaw-type spring detent escapement with grey-finished, foot detent screwed to the potence plate alongside a brass banking piece, also mounted on the potence plate. The replacement steel detent has a gold passing spring running alongside the detent blade, and with a clear jewelled locking stone. The impulse roller has a raked, pink stone and the discharge roller also has a pink stone inset.

The Earnshaw-type, two-arm bimetal balance has broad, straight, steel arms. The rim segments are also blued, the blueing stopping just at the junction with the arms. The rims, which extend to about 100° from the arms, have Earnshaw-type brass wedge weights positioned at 90° from the arms. Steel meantime screws are attached at the end of the arms. The blued steel helical balance spring has terminals on both ends, the upper terminal with a long brass stud fixed to the cock. The jewelling, which is all of light-pink or clear stones mounted in brass settings (upper balance faceted diamond endstone is in a blued steel setting), extends to the balance, escape wheel and the escapement parts as mentioned.

Alterations/condition

When the movement and box were united in 1970 (see note under Provenance), D.Harries had all the brass box and gimbal fittings made.

The box was probably also lacking its lid which would have been replaced at that time. The box probably originally had its upper half opening right over, and was converted to having the 90° strut in the later 19th century. The wooden box is in sound and clean condition with a few small knocks and dents. The drop handles and outer brasswork are clean and sound and the inner brasswork is also sound though the lacquer overall is slightly patchy with tarnish coming through in places. There is a deep goudge out of the top edge of the upper half, under the lid, on the front right hand side.

The dial silvering is very clean and has probably been re-silvered in recent years. Harries records replacing one of the hands (almost certainly the seconds hand).

The movement is in generally sound clean condition, though with old oil, going gummy. The fusee pipe is missing. Work on the movement in 1970 included replacing the detent and the mainspring (the replacement mainspring is probably from a French mantel clock), repivoting the balance staff and dressing the escape wheel. There are burrs raised under the cock foot and the stains of where a piece of paper had once been present under the potence foot, suggesting the balance has had a new staff or has had it repivoted in the past, before the current repivoting by D.Harries. The movement has only been very lightly cleaned, and has been re-oiled, during inspection.

Commentary, Provenance, etc

According to notes provided by D.Harries, Box and mov united with new gimbals
…..Mr Harries records that the mainspring in the movement in 1970 was signed by “Quilet & Borle” and dated 1838, Q&B being a N.Y. company this suggests possibly the chronometer was in use on a ship on the Atlantic trade and that the chronometer was serviced and repaired with a new spring about 13 years after it was new.

Evidence of watch lineage….


Notes on box history


Potence Plate Ø: 80.1

Pillar Plate Ø: 79.8

Plate distance: 22.3

Inside barrel Ø: 34.8

Arbor Ø: 11.2 steel, unsnailed.

Thickness: 0.35 not tapered

Height: 17.9

(6 full turns output from barrel)

Set up: (8 as found) 5 teeth, to line up click with spot on wheel


TRAIN COUNT


Wheel / Pinion (+ext dia) Comment: Crossings? Marks?Jewelled?

Fusee/Great: 84 / 38.5 No.of Turns:9 (Chain 73cms, 157 links)

Ratchet: 40 / 18.8 Brass, 2 steel clicks

Maintaining Power: 120 / 36.6 Steel

Centre/2nd: 75 / 30.1 + 14 / 6.7 5 tapered crossings. Finely finished pinion

Third: 64 / 20.2 + 10 / 4.3 “

Fourth: 80 / 18.9 + 8 / 2.8 “

Escape: 13 / app.13.4 + 8 / 2.1 4 curved crossings

Hour: 54 / 18.1 Brass

Minute Wheel: 56 / 19.0 “

Minute Pinion: 18 / 6.6 Highly polished steel

Cannon: 14 / 5.5 Polished steel

Set up ratchet: 20 / 11.5 Blued and polished steel

Impulse pallet tip Ø: 6.9

Discharge pallet tip radius: 1.6

Detent length: 23.4

Balance Ø: 28.5 Balance Mass (incl. b/spring & stud): 6.4g

Balance spring Ø: 13.8 Material: Blued steel

Turns incl. terminals: 8 ¼ (c/w down)