Is this an English lock?

Scott Klemm

I would like some input (especially from British collectors) concerning this large, 1 ½ foot long gate lock. At first glance one might assume it’s British from the crown and VR (Queen Victoria) markings. But, this doesn’t seem like a typical British lock. Is it really English? I’m thinking that it may have been made in India when it was part of the British Empire. I would appreciate hearing the opinions of other collectors.

KitBear

This is British and was known as a “Bar Padlock” and was very common on sheds, stables and other outbuildings from the late 1700’s up to the early 1900’s, they perhaps sold in their millions throughout that time but the real figures are unknown, they were cheap, easy to make and not very secure at all as the mechanism is based on the “Ward” principal and many lock/blacksmiths made them throughout the country so there are just as many keys as there were locks, most notably a Mr Hodson of Willenhall made a large number throughout Victoria’s reign.

More info can be found here —> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mkncNd3-WI which features your lock as it should be when intact and when being manufactured, The video also has an interesting feature of a brief history of Bramah and the crime problem of 19th century London.

I must add that i was a little surprised to see one posted on here from America but undoubtedly they were exported to all regions of the World at that time, It’s a shame yours isn’t intact, it would make a nice addition to any collection.

Kit Bear

Scott Klemm

Thank you very much, Kit Bear! You were a great help. Not only did you verify that it was indeed English, but you have provided me with the name of the maker. Thanks too for directing me to the you-tube video. The bar lock I saw looks just like mine. Again, many thanks!
Scott

Richard Phillips

Well, howdy, Mr Klemm! Good to see you’re still around.

As Kit Bear says, they were made in numbers, and yes, Hodson was one of the main makers. Without access to the Willenhall trade directories, I can’t say how many others there were. These locks were exported in great quantity through more than a century – nearly all of Hodson’s production going to South American customers, for example.
As for not very secure: very few people know anything of lockpicking, and if you were a gaucho who did not have the key, these are physically robust.
They are also very forgiving of uneven staples on doors/gates which are out of line, and will work without lubrication. Sure, they are rough and stiff, but also inexpensive (no, cheap was the right word first time.)
They probably went to British colonies as well, but would rarely appear specifically in cargo manifests (some of which can be seen online by searching through the reports of shipping arrivals in foreign ports in local newspapers around the world. The British Library Newspaper Library has many now online, for anyone on whose hands time hangs heavily.) They would just be listed as ‘padlocks’ or ‘assorted locks’ amongst the assorted ironmongery being imported.

Richard Phillips

Posted this too soon.
The picture is missing the staple which runs along the bar on a loop, with the other end locking into the slot in the front of the lock body, much like an old suitcase or very old chest lock. Because the staple is completely removable, it can be lost, but it is a simple blacksmithing job to make a replacement.

Oh, and ‘patent’? Nah! But back then, it was not illegal to stamp VR PATENT on everything.

Billy B Edwards Jr. CML

Here is a picture of a similar lock in my collection. I took a separate picture of the staple and inset it at the lower right. Mine has no makers marks of any kind and I was told it came from an old plantation near New Orleans. I don’t have the key but it is unlocked. The lock from one side to the other is around a foot.
BBE.

Scott Klemm

chubbbramah wrote
Well, howdy, Mr Klemm! Good to see you’re still around.

As Kit Bear says, they were made in numbers, and yes, Hodson was one of the main makers. Without access to the Willenhall trade directories, I can’t say how many others there were. These locks were exported in great quantity through more than a century – nearly all of Hodson’s production going to South American customers, for example.
As for not very secure: very few people know anything of lockpicking, and if you were a gaucho who did not have the key, these are physically robust.
They are also very forgiving of uneven staples on doors/gates which are out of line, and will work without lubrication. Sure, they are rough and stiff, but also inexpensive (no, cheap was the right word first time.)
They probably went to British colonies as well, but would rarely appear specifically in cargo manifests (some of which can be seen online by searching through the reports of shipping arrivals in foreign ports in local newspapers around the world. The British Library Newspaper Library has many now online, for anyone on whose hands time hangs heavily.) They would just be listed as ‘padlocks’ or ‘assorted locks’ amongst the assorted ironmongery being imported.

Hello chubbbramah!
Thanks for the helpful information. I have now come to the conclusion that my bar padlock is indeed English made, and was manufactured for South American export. I acquired it many years ago, and if my memory is correct it came with some other locks of Latin American origin.
Your greeting indicates that you remember me. Are you a long time lock collector and perhaps one of the early subscribers of Morland’s 1970’s The Lock Collectors Newsletter?
Scott

[unknown]

Scott Klemm

BBE wrote
Here is a picture of a similar lock in my collection. I took a separate picture of the staple and inset it at the lower right. Mine has no makers marks of any kind and I was told it came from an old plantation near New Orleans. I don’t have the key but it is unlocked. The lock from one side to the other is around a foot.
BBE.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]6507[/ATTACH]

Hello BBE -
Thanks for sharing your bar padlock. It’s a nice specimen that is complete (unlike mine that is missing the ring-and-staple). Too bad you couldn’t get more information on whose plantation used it. Such history would add even further interest and value to the item.
Thanks for sharing,
Scott

[unknown]

Richard Phillips

' Are you a long time lock collector and perhaps one of the early subscribers of Morland’s 1970’s The Lock Collectors Newsletter?'

Yes I am.
🙁bow):

Richard Phillips

BBE wrote
Here is a picture of a similar lock in my collection. I took a separate picture of the staple and inset it at the lower right. Mine has no makers marks of any kind and I was told it came from an old plantation near New Orleans. I don’t have the key but it is unlocked. The lock from one side to the other is around a foot.
BBE.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]6507[/ATTACH]

This one does not look english. Spanish or French, likely. Around New Orleans? I’ll go with my first thought from the keyhole: French. But could also be Spanish.

[unknown]