British Nautical Objects

A fine English ship's binnacle compass of brass - a navigational instrument used for maritime travel. A binnacle is the housing that protects the com...

Naval range finder made by Waymouth-Cooke of London. These were based on the principals of a sextant range finder. They were patented in 1914. The Mark II like this one came out in 1...

Rare ship's chronometer by Whyte, Thomson & Co., Makers to the Admiralty, 144 Broomielaw, GLASGOW, number 4492, housed in its beautiful original three-tiered rosewood-veneered case w...

Quartz sweep seconds / non ticking wall clock finished in Yellow Pantone 13-0647 Illuminating. Rescued from Industrial scrap yards and brought back t...

A model of a three mast sailing ship Golden Horizon, circa 1920. Copper sails and rigging, ebonized oak hull, masts, deck and fittings. Stand with brass name plate: GOLDEN HORIZON

Rescued from Industrial scrap yards and brought back to life in our UK workshop, our expert process allows us to create a high quality clock of luxury standards. At A.C GMT Co. we ...

A beautiful example of the craft of ship modeling, this sloop has all the details the original would have had and the model maker left the lower half of the hull exposed to reveal th...

A brass circular base with a central inset hinged glass panel that reveals a white metal face with black enameled Roman numerals hours and Arabic numerals seconds. The clock lacks a ...

Quartz sweep seconds / non ticking wall clock finished in Yellow Pantone 13-0647 Illuminating. Rescued from Industrial scrap yards and brought back t...

Rescued from Industrial scrap yards and brought back to life in our UK workshop, our expert process allows us to create a high quality clock of luxury standards. At A.C GMT Co. we ...

English mahogany oval sea captains desk with hinged leather top concealing two upper hidden compartments, single front drawer, original brasses, ebony...

Large elegant wooden pond yacht model. High quality, hand-built. Hull made in mahogany, deck in maple wood. Very decorative and beautifully exec...

An antique Victorian brass doorbell with wrought iron bracket. Made in England circa 1900, this bronze ships bell has a custom-made wrought iron bracket, ready to install as a doorb...

Superb and substantial marine beacon by Francis Searchlights of Bolton, England. From the Ministry of Defense, British Royal Navy. With shutters for...

Rare mid century nautical maritime theme Chelsea Ship's Clock and Barometer set featuring a carved mahogany case with dolphins / delphins flanking brass cased gauges accented with sh...

A 1950's model of a motor boat "Rainbow" with a 2 cc engine. Well built model with good scale details, brass window frames, lights, flag poles, decking, seating, interior table, pro...

Rare English Nautical Globe with Armillary Sphere (1930) 20th Century Good condition magnificent globe, with a leather-covered wooden interior terrest...

Wood fireplace screen with a painted circular nautical painting of yacht or pod yacht on the water. A beautiful piece for any living room or country home or beach home. The back ...

Here is an unusual and rare trio of functioning antique bellows crafted in wood leather and turtle shells with a rustic form and beautiful aged patina....

A visually striking smaller scale vintage WWII era maritime salvage ship's binnacle pedestal with compass by Sestrel Henry Browne & Son. circa 1940s The beautifully aged heavily patinated polished brass binnacle housing a high quality marine navigational instrument, having an enclosed brass bowl English Sestrel compass...

Large mahogany rudder with eight spokes with bronze hub. English manufacture of the end of the 19th century. Diameter 130 cm - inches 51.2, depth 15 cm - inches 5.9. There are evidences showing that already in the third millennium BC, in ancient Egypt, people used wooden oars...

19th Century Folk Art Encased Ship Diorama A delightful and highly decorated example of a late 19th century English folk art ships model diorama...

An antique Victorian brass doorbell with wrought iron bracket. Made in England circa 1900, this bronze ships bell has a custom-made wrought iron bracket, ready to install as a doorb...

A 1920s ship's bell on a Art Deco bronze circular mount, for the steam ship PIAKO. Steam Merchant ship Piako, built in 1920 by A. Stephen & Sons Ltd, Linthouse, Glasgow, for New Ze...

An Engraved Nautilus Shell by Charles H. Wood Incorporating the Arms of the City of London and Later Mounted on a Silver Gilt Pedestal made by George Fox, 1907 This shell is a true ...

English Victorian brass and blue telescope on adjustable mahogany tripod base.

A very rare pair of 19th Century finely cast brass port holes. This fabulous pair are of exceptional quality and of circular form with beautifully rich patination.

Provenance Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Paget (1778-1839) Given to Sir Peter Parker (1775-1814) Given to Midshipman Henry Augustus Finucane (1798-1850) Given back by Finucane to the ...

English Country style (19th century) carved and painted figurehead of lady with necklace and one breast exposed.  

A fine two Day Marine Chronometer by G.H & C Gowland, Sunderland No. 1931 Two day marine chromometer by G.H & C Gowland housed in a beautiful three tier mahogany brass bound box...

RARE, LARGE COLLECTION OF GREEN, BLACK & CLEAR GLASS & FISHING FLOATS OR BUOYS WITH THE MAKERS MARKS FOR SMALL NETS c.1910 Displaying a variety of makers marks and symbols such as a...

A decorative collection of 33 individual museum cased shell specimens, card lidded boxes with circular glass top. Filled with dyed cotton and hand penned labels on the reverse. 5 la...

EXTREMELY RARE, GREEN GLASS & ROPE, DOUBLE FISHING FLOAT, c.1910 Exuding character and injecting atmosphere and conversation Can be placed in the home or the garden The green glass...

19th century English carved wooden polychrome large ship figurehead of Lord Nelson.

English polished steel nautical yacht cabin lantern with wooden carrying handle, vented chimney, three glass panels, porcelain back, and original oil bu...

A racing flag from the Royal Sailing Yacht Britannia, circa 1936. This large racing flag was made from pieced wool bunting with machine stitched bunting and a canvas sleeve stamped ‘5’. It is of rectangular form with the Prince of Wales feathers enclosed in a ducal coronet and the motto ‘Ich Dien’ on a halved blue and red ground, later framed and glazed. It is accompanied by a black edged letter on Buckingham Palace writing paper dated 10th July 1936 saying ‘Dear Sir, I am commanded by the King and Queen Mary to send you these flags which were flown on board “Britannia” at various times during her career, including one of her racing flags. Their Majesties hope you will like to keep these in your club house as souvenirs of the old yacht. Yours Derek Keppell, Master of the Household, The Commodore, Royal Portsmouth Corinthian Yacht Club.” King George died on 20 January 1936 which explains the black edge to the letter. English, circa 1936. Height: 43in (109cm) Width:60in (152.5cm) Framed height: 57½ in (146 cm) Width: 81½ in (207cm) Provenance: Royal Naval Club & Royal Albert Yacht Club, Portsmouth R.S.Y. Britannia played an important part in preparing challengers for the America’s Cup. She was used as a trial horse for the Shamrocks and later, after conversion, for most of the ‘J’ Class yachts of the 1930s. Britannia was built in 1893 according to the plans of G. L. Watson for His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, a keen and able helmsman. From the beginning, Britannia was a successful racing yacht winning races against Kaiser Wilhelm’s Meteors, among many others. Britannia won over two hundred races in her career — a record that has yet to be surpassed. She was beaten once by Navahoe, one of Herreshoff’s boats, but fared better against another America’s Cup yacht, Vigilant, winning twelve races out of seventeen. When Britannia was converted to race in the ‘J’ Class she was stripped of her bulwarks, given a one-piece mast and a Bermudan mainsail. The transition did not interrupt her run of success, although she performed best in hard weather. She was scuttled off the Isle of Wight at the dying request of George V. A grisaille by Charles Dixon of R S Y Britannia racnig at Cowes. Credit: Wick Antiques

A cased ship’s boardroom model of three sister ships, recorded on the label as ‘TSS Dublin’, ‘Edimburgo’ and ‘Mexico’ built and engined by the Caledon ...

A Fine Two Day Marine Chronometer By John Bliss and Co, New York. No.3068 Two day marine chromometer by John Bliss and Co housed in a beautiful three tier brass bound box with brass carrying handles to the sides, brass push button knob opening to a third tier. The box has a wonderful rich patina and retains it’s original solid brass Tipsy key. The movement is housed within a gimballed brass surround which is stamped H.M.I and marked with the ordnance arrow The high quality 56 hour chain fusee movement has full brass plates joined by four ringed pillars, an Earnshaw-type spring detent escapement with maintaining power, split bi-metallic balance and cylindrical shaped temperature compensation weights, polished steel helical balance and faceted endstone. The silvered dial signed ‘John Bliss & Co, New York No 3068 with subsidiary dial below XII for ‘state of wind’ and subsidiary seconds dial above the VI, original ‘blued’ steel hands. C.1890 John Bliss & Co worked at 128 Front Street, New York between 1880 and 1929 and then 84 Pearl Street, New York from 1934 to 1939. Front Street runs from the Brooklyn Bridge to Hudson Ave. and Navy Street, close to the Docks area. On the death of John Bliss, his sons John and George carried on the business. Their chronometers were placed 3rd, 6th and 8th at the Washington Observatory Trials in 1886. They became suppliers to the US Navy and also made meteorological instruments and devised an original way of making mainsprings. Many of their movements were supplied by makers in England, particularly Victor Kullberg.

Wonderful pond yacht. Named " Fame " Original paint and sails Iona ( Ailsa )pond yachts were made by the the Turner family in Largs Scotland in the 1930's. It has a deck badge mar...

Found in England, this circa 1900 wooden boat rudder is mounted on an iron display stand. Rudder found painted as shown - we do not know if the green paint is original. Very good ove...

Herschel actinometer, 1930s, wood and brass, signed Griffin & Tatlock ltd London. It is an instrument invented in 1825 by John Herschel and used for the measurement of the solar heat...

Project of the ship Ortac; launched in 1937 at the Morgan Giles shipyard, length 10.68m overall, width 3.39m, it has a mast rather tail-heavy and it won many races of RORC class. Mea...

A Pair of Victorian Fine Half Hull Models of the Margaret Mitchell and Robina Mitchell, both Ships Three Masted Wooden Clippers Built by Archibald McMillan and Son on the Clyde. Thes...

Model of the Americas Cup Racing Yacht ‘America’, fully rigged over simulated plank deck with fittings, the hull pained black to waterline and gold beneath, on oak stand. Dimensions ...

An antique Victorian brass doorbell with wrought iron bracket. Made in England circa 1900, this bronze ships bell has a custom-made wrought iron bracket, ready to install as a doorb...

A Victorian shipyard model of a sloop. This large boxwood model has a truncated mast and retractable bowsprit. The hull has an upright stem, wide beam, four metal rigging blocks on e...

Fine pair of mid-19th century English bronze cannon with tapering 41" barrels and flared muzzles, the top of each breech engraved with the family crest o...

Presented is a British nautical sextant, dating to the 1830-40s. The brass and wood sextant was made by Spencer & Co. in London. The sextant has a wood body, brass index arm, and an ...

Pair of antique English naval cannon each with a tapering three stage barrel flanked by plain trunnions, with a knob shaped cascabel button before a shaped rectangular raised vent and ending in a 3 1/2” bore muzzle, enclosing a removable conforming wood plug, circa 1800. Stood upon a naval type bronze-mounted four wheeled wooden carriage, including its wedge shaped quoin with knob handle. The Earls of Lonsdale, Lowther Castle, Cumbria, presumably by descent to Hugh Cecil Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale (1857-1944), until sold by his heir and brother, Lancelot, 6th Earl, as part of the contents of Lowther Castle, Maple & Co. Ltd./Thomas Wyatt, Tuesday 14 April 1947 and two following days, lot 558: ‘A pair of Old Gun Metal Cannons on teakwood carriages, 3ft. 6in. long’. Mrs. P.M. Adie-Shepherd, sold Christie’s, London, 29 May 1970, lot 96. Lowther Castle is a castellated mansion built by Robert Smirke between 1806 and 1814 for William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale (1757-1844). It was constructed on the foundations of the former 17th century family seat, Lowther Hall, but it was only in the early 19th century that it was afforded the name ‘castle’ in keeping with the Europe-wide fashion for romanticism and which was promoted by influential characters such as William Beckford at Fonthill Abbey, Wiltshire in England and by the writer Sir Walter Scott at Abbotsford, Roxburghshire, Scotland. While it’s not known when these naval cannon were acquired for Lowther they would have been entirely fitting in the castle or its approaches and it’s likely that they were in place soon after the castle was completed, or perhaps acquired later by the 5th Earl. A tantalising possibility is that the cannon were originally aboard the East Indiaman Lowther Castle which was active in the early 19th century. HUGH CECIL LONSDALE, 5TH EARL OF LONSDALE (1857-1944) AND THE DEMISE OF LOWTHER CASTLE In 1882 at the age of 25 Hugh Lonsdale (1857-1944) unexpectedly inherited the earldom and with it the extensive Lonsdale estate, including tens of thousands of acres of Cumberland and Westmorland and coalfields at Whitehaven. However, despite his spectacular inherited wealth – he was suddenly one of the wealthiest men in England, over the course of his lifetime he managed to decimate the family fortune. He led a full and colourful life, one of adventure and luxury. An early intrepid escapade took place in July 1888 when, as part of an expedition called the Scotch Naturalist Society, he set embarked on horse sleigh...

English Brass Nautical ship wheel mounted on a solid brass pedestal with an yacht binnacle having a gimballed signed compass, circular six spoke w...

Quartz sweep seconds / non ticking wall clock finished in Ultimate gray Pantone 17-5104 Rescued from Industrial scrap yards and brought back to life in our UK workshop, our expert...

Cased scale model of the Scottish two-masted schooner ‘Scottish Maid’ by C Russell, standing rigged over a plank deck, with fittings and pinned hull. standin...

Found in England, this circa 1900 wooden boat rudder is mounted on an iron display stand. Rudder found painted as shown - we do not know if the paint is original. Very good overall a...

A large and imposing Regency nautical chair made for the Alliance assurance company, the rectangular leather covered back, padded arms and seat surmoun...

A smoke-stained White Ensign from the Dover Patrol Motor Launch 397, a Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve vessel 1918 The frayed ensign of ML397 is mounted in a teak frame which is elaborately carved with the names of the crew who took part in the raids, with seven names appearing twice. Initially two audacious raids were planned in April 1918 by Vice-Admiral Sir Roger Keyes, targeting the Belgian ports at Zeebrugge and Ostend. German submarines, torpedo boats and ships were based at the inland docks in Bruges and were using the shipping canals to access the English Channel. The plan was to scuttle blockships at Zeebrugge and Ostend to prevent German vessels being able to enter or leave the canals. Two submarines packed with explosives were to blow a hole in the viaduct at Zeebrugge that connected the mile-and-a-half-long mole to the shore, and marines were to climb onto the breakwater to silence the German guns...

This wooden model is painted in both light and dark grey with a white gunport band and faux gunports, a golden lion figurehead and the name Vimiera in applied gold lettering on the b...

Rescued from Industrial scrap yards and brought back to life in our UK workshop, our expert process allows us to create a high quality clock of luxury standards. At A.C GMT Co. we ...

An Unusually Large Napoleonic Prisoner of War Carved Bone Working Model of the French Revolutionary Guillotine The Recumbent Body of the Queen, Marie Antoinette, Lying on a Podium be...

English bronze thunder mug signal cannon with decorative central ring, original side handle, lower fuse port, and resting on circular ringed base. Late 18t...

Rare pair of antique Regency period brass chamber sticks with handles in the shape of dolphins jumping out of stylized waves. Measures: Width with handle 5.5 inches.