Oxfordshire Woodland Group

Watlington Town Hall clock tower contains forelock bolts that were used to connect a post to a scarfed repair joint. This type of connector precedes the use of screwed type nuts and bolts (first ?) employed in the North transept roof at Wells Cathedral in as early as 1661 as remarked on pp 241 in English Historic Carpentry by C. A. Hewett.

HEWETT, C.A., 1980 English Historic Carpentry. Chichester : Phillimore.

It's interesting that both of these types of bolts are present in the same assembly ?

Possible reasons :-

The post would have been dry and hence not prone to further shrinkage whereas the scarfed in piece might have been made using non seasoned timber which would shrink across the grain and hence the carpenter recognised that future tightening of the bolts would be required.

The cost of a screwed bolt & nut might have been significant compared with blacksmith made forelock bolts.

The post strap and forelock bolts is an original fixing for the the clock tower above with the scarf plates and bolts being much later with the post strap re used in the new assembly.