Gawen Brown. Boston, Massachusetts. A pre-revolutionary American tall clock. UU-99.
Gawen Brown of Boston, Massachusetts, made this important maple case tall clock. Circa 1755.
This rare clock is typical of the early Boston form. The case is maple-stained dark to look like walnut. The color is excellent. The case is supported on a large double-step molding that rests flat on the floor. The molding transitioning the base to the waist section is complex, having a serpentine shape. The waist section has a tombstone-shaped door providing access to the two drive weights and brass-faced pendulum bob. The bonnet features a caddy top with two gilt wooden finials. Free-standing columns flank the hood door and support the arch molding. Shaped quarter columns fit in the back corners of the hood. The hood sides have large rectangular glazed windows through which the clockworks are visible. The bonnet door is arched and opens to a composite brass dial signed by the maker.
This dial style predates the painted dial. It has a brass base sheet decorated with applied spandrels and chapter rings. The clock is signed "Gawen / Brown / BOSTON" on the name boss in the dial arch. The large chapter ring is also applied. Arabic five-minute markers appear at each hour position, separated from the Roman-style hour numerals by a closed minute track. The center is nicely matted, likely to help locate the hands while reading. A brass dial tarnishes over time, making it harder to read by candlelight. The dial also features a subsidiary seconds dial and a calendar display, both engraved and silvered. The steel hands are wonderfully made.
The movement is brass and weight-driven. It runs eight days on a full wind and strikes each hour on a cast-iron bell mounted above the movement.
This case stands 7 feet 8 inches tall overall. The upper hood molding measures 21.5 inches wide and 10.25 inches deep.
Inventory number UU-99.
Gawen Brown, a key figure in Boston’s colonial era, was born in England in 1719 and died in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1801 at the age of 82. He emigrated to the American colonies sometime before 1749, during a period when Boston was a thriving center of commerce and craftsmanship. On February 6, 1749, Brown advertised in The Boston Evening Post as a "...Clock and Watchmaker lately from London," announcing his new shop at Mr. Johnson's Japanner in Brattle Street, Boston, near Mr. Cooper's Meeting House. This advertisement not only evidences his arrival but also reflects the transatlantic connections that brought skilled artisans like Brown to America.
One of Brown’s earliest public contributions was repairing the clock in the Old North Church, a historic landmark that played a role in the American Revolution. The church’s clock had been silent for nearly thirty years until Brown was hired to convert its escapement from a balance to a long pendulum arrangement—an innovative improvement at the time. His successful restoration was completed before December 1749, demonstrating both his expertise and the growing demand for precision timekeeping in colonial society.
Between 1752 and 1760, Brown’s shop and residence changed locations several times, which was typical for tradesmen adjusting to the city’s dynamic growth. He became particularly renowned for his work on the tower clock in Boston’s Old South Church—a significant civic project. The church, built in 1730, originally lacked a clock, and Brown’s installation between 1768 and 1770 provided the city with an important public timepiece, symbolizing both technical progress and community pride.
Brown’s business was closely tied to the transatlantic trade, as he regularly imported English clocks and watches, according to period newspaper advertisements. From 1789 through 1796, he was consistently listed as a watchmaker in Boston business directories. Today, numerous tall clocks crafted by Brown survive, serving as enduring testaments to his craftsmanship and his place in Boston’s historical narrative.
Gawen Brown married three times and had 12 children. On April 5, 1750, he married Mary Flagg. Together, they had six children before she died in 1760. She was only 31 years old. His second wife, Elizabeth Byles, was Mather Byles' daughter. Mather was a well-known clergyman who presided over the Hollis Street Church. Elizabeth lived only three more years and had no children. She died in 1763. In 1764, Brown again married, this time to Elizabeth Hill Adams. Elizabeth Hill Adams was the widow of Dr. Joseph Adams, who was the brother of Samuel Adams. Elizabeth bore him six more children.
