The Robyn Hode Clock

by Jeff Streba
Salt Lake City, Utah

In 1989 I was driving from Fayetteville, West Virginia to Cincinnati, Ohio. Probably like many of you I am always on the search for old rusty tools. Somewhere near the border I found an antique store to visit. This store was not fancy by any stretch of the imagination. As I recall it was a plain looking cinder block building. On the inside were rows of metal shelving filled with dusty junk. Ceiling panels were either missing or stained and maybe only half of the ceiling lights worked. My kind of place.

After scouring the shelves for treasure, I was at the checkout counter. I noticed, written on the back of a business card, now in faded ink, taped to the inside of the glass countertop were the words, "Ask to see clock, 25¢".

"What is the deal with the clock?", I asked suspiciously. His response was, "Ya, I have a clock."

I think he was waiting for me to ask to see it. I was thinking, 'This must be some kind of scam. What kind of clock could this guy have?' Looking around the store it looks like most of the stuff was purchased at yard sales. Maybe it's an old mantle clock. He's not getting rich at 25¢ per person even if customers do see the old, faded business card.' I told him to add the cost to see the clock to my bill.

We left the store unattended and walked around towards the back. We passed piles of old rusty junk and headed to a pole shed sheathed in corrugated metal. As we entered the shed it was full of dusty chairs stacked 8 to 10 feet high. We weaved our way through a narrow aisle to a big door with a chain and padlock. This is the time in the movie when the music turns bassey and you know it's not going turn out well for any of the nice people. He unlocked the door and let us all go in first.

OH MY GOD! WOW! Totally worth 25¢. What stood before us was an 11-foot-tall grandfather clock. It was all hand carved with figures of people and animals and religious characters. The theme was Robin Hood but carved in the old English, Robyn Hode. As with everything else at this place it was dusty as could be. Although it was under a roof the windows that supplied light to the room were broken out; for if there were a driving rain the clock would get wet.

As we gasped in awe, the owner stood behind us and told us the story of the clock. I later found that his story was lacking in places. We were told the clock was made in the 1800's. The wood was harvested from the black forest on the border of Germany and France. A group of monks did the carving in celebration of the famed Robin Hood, a protector of the weak and defender of justice. I forget what country the monks were from but since the writing is in English one could assume the monks were as well. The main character is Robin Hood with his arm around a deer. Both he and the deer extend from clock almost as a free-standing sculpture. They are probably 4 to 5 feet tall. The carving of Robins face shows up at the base of the clock in relief and at the very top as freestanding. The one at the top was not connected but sitting on a table in front of the clock. Robin's image is very similar to how Jesus is depicted.

At the base of the clock, like columns of a building, are two human figures. These figures extruded from the base almost as a free-standing sculpture. On the right is a female holding an open book with a small animal on it. She could be Maid Marian. On the left is a male figure with a crown. Apparently, one of Robins merry men.

Above Robin is the clock face. We were told that the intricacy of the clock mechanism was outstanding for the time period. Not only did it show the hour but also the seconds, day of the week and month of the year. There is also a plate that rotates with the images of the sun, moon and stars on it. The pendulum was out of the clock and has an elaborate carving of father time on it. It appeared to be a shell of brass filled with lead. It must have weighed 30 pounds.

We were told to look around the back of the clock. There were wings, 3 feet wide, that when attached to the clock would give the clock a total width of 9 feet. I took a photograph the best I could of one of the wings. Because of so much stuff in the room we were not able to get too close.

The owner told us the clock was given to one of the governors of West Virginia. He had heard of the clock through a newspaper article. Some years later there was a public function at the governor's house and the owner went to see the clock. He said he came home clock rich and cash poor. He would not tell us how much he paid but said he went into debt.

I have always wondered about this clock. Every few years I google, 'Big grandfather clock', and 'hand carved clock'. I can never find any information about it. Using Google maps, I try to figure out what route I would have driven and I look at the antique stores where it might have been. Nothing.

I now decided to write this article for Highland Woodworking and appeal to the readers for information. As I pulled out the photos I took, I was reminded of the Robin Hood theme. I gave it one last go and googled, 'Robin Hood clock'. There it was.

As Paul Harvey used to say, "And now, the rest of the story." The clock is believed to be made by an English master carver named Gerrard Robinson who lived from 1834 to 1891. If you are a wood carver or just a lover of wood, you need to check out this guy's carvings. It's amazing people can carve like that. The success I had when I googled 'Robin Hood Clock' was a video from an antique store in New Orleans named M.S. Rau. (photo, courtesy of M.S. Rau, New Orleans) The video is about 3 minutes long and the old dusty clock has been cleaned up and is amazing!