Clock jack

This expensive kitchen tool from the 1700's would have been imported from England. Architectural evidence in the Deane house (a round wooden wheel in the outside wall) indicates that he would have had one in his kitchen for the convenience of his slaves. The clock jack works like a rotisserie in today’s super markets or the spit on a fancy barbecue in your backyard. Notice the rope that goes off to the left – a large stone is attached to the rope outside the house. If the rope is loosened, the stone begins to descend (like the weight of a tallcase clock, hence its name) which pulls a leather strap that is wrapped around a round metal wheel that is attached to a this metal bar where a small bird or other piece of meat has been skewered. The meat continually turns in front of the fire and cooks. It takes about twenty minutes for the outside stone to reach the ground, at which point a handle on the jack must be hand-turned to bring the stone up to start the process again. If a family did not have this tool, and most would not have been able to afford one, a child or mother would have had to continually stand in front of the uncomfortably hot fire turning the meat.

Webb Deane Stevens Museum