This self-acting, field clock gun was patented in England by William Maund and Charles Millichamp on May 3, 1888. It is essentially a giant revolver that holds eight 16 gauge pinfire shotshells. The clockwork mechanism inside it can be set to fire the cartridges intermittently at intervals of as often as every 15 minutes up to every 1.5 hours. It can also be set to fire a single shot at a chosen time.
It was sold in two variations. One option had a handle on the top allowing it to be suspended from a tree or a barn. This is the example that I have and is shown in the pictures. There was also a variation that was sold at a 25% premium with a figurine of a person holding a gun as shown in the advertisement above and patent image below.
Millichamp’s marketing material stated that this device was “Invaluable to Farmers, Gardeners, Keepers, etc., for scaring birds, rabbits, foxes, and vermin” from cultivated land. He also sold special blank cartridges to use in the gun and there were others available on the market as well.
Charles Millichamp was my Great Great Grandfather…I knew a lot about this but great to see such clear photographs. Would be interested to know more…does anyone know how may still exist?
Hello! This is pretty much all I could find about him at the time.
Recently I started to do a little more research but have not really compiled much more yet. The company at one point was called “Millichamp & Son” so it may actually be one generation closer to you!
The person that I bought this from has a full-page advertisement on Millichamp and this gun somewhere but cannot find it currently. If he ever finds it I’ll be sure to share it.
Also, the full patent document should exist in the British patent library but I haven’t reached out to get it from them. they don’t have these older ones online. And the Google/Hathi Trust scanned in patent journals don’t always have the full document or images.
Do you have any images of Charles Millichamp or his son? Or anything else pertaining to this company or this gun?
Yes that’s right, Charles was my Great Great Grandfather and his son (Charles William) was my Great Grandfather. They came from a small village called Presteigne which is just over the border into Wales. Like I said, I have seen some pictures of his clock gun before but this is one of the best examples.
Yes I do have a picture of Charles and also some images of adverts that were printed at the time, some in a local guide about Presteigne which was circulated before 1910. I have heard several references in the past to the fact that Charles was a supplier to the Royal Family at the time (would have been the reign of Edward VII), and one of the prints states that they are “patronized by royalty”. Might be good if we could chat via email and I can share them with you?
Hi, yes, Alfred was another of Charles’ sons (brother of Charles William). I have seen this article before and done quite a lot of research on his time in the military,
