Probable 17th English Century Box Lock

[Bassoonbloke]

Hello People, I thought that you may be interested in a large (7 inches long) early box lock that I bought a while back. It is a Ward lock of a sort, but has a quite complex set of levers to detach the lock plate. I am estimating it as 17th Century, but it may well be earlier. It is made of iron and was probably a custom made (?) lock for somebody. If anyone has seen one before or has any other ideas I would like to hear from you. Cheers, Alan.

[Adrian Weber]

This is definitely too old for me and I hope that one of the other users will be able to help you

[Dean Nickel]

It looks like a sliding door/gate lock if I had to guess. Interesting design in that it looks like the key has to turn two different directions to work the lock. I could be wrong on that but from the design that is my thoughts.

Cool lock. Would love to see some closer pictures in say two sections, right and left if it isn't too much trouble.

[Timbo]

Very interesting lock that one, would be nice to have seen the key that works this. Always nice to see the key with a lock but over the years most get lost or broken which is a shame.

[Doug MacQueen]

Can you supply a closer view of the key area? Is the contact point "talon" for the key broken off?

[Bassoonbloke]

Hello All, The key would have come in from the open side, having passed through the box (of course it may have been a door !) and the 'Talon' carried on through the hole that you see in the first picture. Hope that makes some sense. The Ward would have made it difficult to determine the details of the key (from the outside) that were needed to forge a key. Alan.

[Bassoonbloke]

Hello All, The three pictures were taken at Hampton Court Palace by a friend of mine (I was showing it to some people who work there). I will try to take some more pictures with a bit more detail and also get some proper dimensions for the lock. I would also like to attempt to make a key for this lock (maybe in wood first of all to work out the shape and details) and to try to get it to function to some degree. Cheers, Alan.

[Dean Nickel]

I might advise caution on getting this lock to "work". If I am right this lock has not been in use for a very long time and might be brittle and could break easily. As metal ages it will crystallize. This is your lock so you can do as you wish but I thought I would toss that out there.

[Bassoonbloke]

Thanks for the warning Dean, I will tread carefully, the springs still feel pretty good for their age, but i'm not going to over stress them. Alan.

[Doug MacQueen]

I' be done a little research on that lock. It is not only missing a faceplate but also the canon, the French term for the rotating keyhole barrel. As Gerry stated it is French and was used on a chest. There are several very fancy versions of this type of lock held in museums in Europe. On these, the faceplate is usually heavily pierced and have a difficult to make profile key shaft. Hopefully you have given it a good soak to remove the loose rust.