The English Longcase Clock
A brief look at how these machines of time changed our lives forever.
The study of the development of the English longcase clock is a fascinating insight into the scientific progresses and changing social histories of the 17th, 18th & 19th centuries.
There have been many devices, during the history of man’s various civilisations, for recording and subdividing the motions of the earth, however if one where asked to imagine the quintessential English clock, the longcase or grandfather clock would spring to mind.
When looking back into the past over the development of horology it can be seen that clocks were at the forefront of technological development and were concerned with the greatest scientific minds of the time. However, as in much of history, there were long periods of inactivity suddenly punctuated by breakthroughs in design and construction.
One of those breakthroughs was the introduction of the pendulum to timekeeping. It is generally believed that around 1660 the pendulum was formulated as a controller of clocks. The honour of such has been variously attributed to Richard Harris, Christian Huygens (1629-1695), Ahasuerus Fromanteel (c.1607-c.1693) and Robert Hooke (1635-1703). Nowadays though, it is accepted that Christian Huygens was the inventor of the pendulum clock in 1656, and patenting it in 1657. There is scant information, however, who the first person to actually use the pendulum was.
One of its earliest known uses was in 1st century China in a seismometer by a scientist called Zhang Heng (AD 78-AD 139). There is also definite evidence that it was in common use in Italy and Germany, in machines such as saws and pumps, at an earlier period of the 17th century than 1660.
However it was Galileo’s (1564-1642) investigations into pendulums for timekeeping in the late 16th century that inspired Huygens to build his pendulum clock.
Initially only the very wealthy could afford a clock even though they were wildly inaccurate, and could lose several hours a day of time. Nevertheless they presented some of the finest scientific achievements of the time. Gradually, as its potential was realised, clockmaking spread throughout Europe. The costs came down, the manufacture more standardised, and the accuracy better. People who had always relied on the seasons and the sun, started to let their schedules be managed by a machine. The result was an irreversible change in how we interact with the world today.
The earliest English longcases seem to have developed from the lantern clock, which in turn had developed from the earlier iron wall clocks such as Huygen’s prototype. They were produced in London but by about 1700 they were being made in provincial centres such as Oxford and Bristol. Within the first quarter of the 18th century clockmaking had become established throughout Great Britain.
One of the most interesting things about clocks is that they are not made by one person. It took a collaboration of craftsmen to construct just one. There could be as many as ten different skilled artisans involved, such as carpenters, dial makers and hand makers.
All period longcase clocks are weight driven and have a long seconds beating pendulum hanging below the movement. Thus so developed the long iconic wooden case. Not only was it attractive but it also provided the solution to the problem of providing a stable, dust-free environment for the clock.
The movement is most commonly of eight-day duration, is made from primarily brass and steel, has an anchor escapement and strikes the hour on a single bell. Obviously there are many variations to this with some clocks running for as long as a year, some with highly complicated astronomical features, some with elaborate chiming mechanisms, deadbeat escapements, and so on.
Longcase movements usually have two trains: i.e. one train for the telling of the time (the going train) and one train for the strike (the striking train). The collection of wheels in each movement is known as the train. In the going train there are normally four wheels: the main wheel, which the gut is wound onto and thus the weight hangs from, the centre wheel to which the hands are attached to its arbor, the third wheel and the escape wheel. The wheels mesh with each other by means of pinions.
Above is the anchor, which directly engages with the escape wheel. Attached to the anchor’s arbor is the crutch. The pendulum is threaded through this crutch and attached to the movement by means of a suspension spring (a flat flexible piece of steel). The weight is then attached to a pulley and hung below the main wheel. A ratchet and click spring on the main wheel prevent the weight from plunging to the floor. The pendulum can now be given a gentle swing. This will allow the anchor to release power from the escape wheel and the weight will slowly descend providing constant power to the clock. The length of the pendulum, and thus the distance of its bob from the release of the escapement, will determine its running speed. This is a most basic explanation of how a clock purports to tell time.
The earliest cases were very simple and plain, almost always having a carcass of oak and veneered in ebony or ebonised fruitwood. As fashions changed and exotic new woods were discovered in the colonies so the longcase kept evolving in appearance. Later cases feature marquetry (c.1680 to c.1710), walnut (c.1665 to c.1760) or mahogany veneers (c.1740 to c.1860), lacquerwork (c.1700 to c.1780) and solid oak (c.1700 to c.1840) As larger and more elaborate cases were produced, to fit in with the fashions of the day, makers often made use of decorative features such as brass stringing, gilt finials, pierced fretwork or mounts.
The early cases tend to have narrow, slim and elegant proportions whereas by the mid 19th they had morphed into ugly overbearing pieces. The longcase clock with its use of fine timbers and decorative features can certainly be considered a piece of furniture as well as a functional time recording apparatus.
The early dials of longcases were brass and square in shape with a narrow applied silvered chapter ring and applied spandrels to the corners. Known as composite dials, the centre is matted and often has a date aperture and seconds subsidiary dial. The numerals are engraved and are filled with black wax. The hands are of blued steel and the dial is almost always signed by the clockmaker.
By about 1715 the first arched dials started to appear. The arch was very shallow, but they steepened as development progressed. The arch usually contains spandrels, applied around a strike/silent dial, boss, calendar dial or moonphase. Throughout the period that brass dials were in vogue there are many subtle changes that give important clues to when a clock may have been produced.
Around 1755 a different type of brass dial appeared. This was the single sheet dial onto which all necessary information and decoration was engraved. The entire dial was then silvered, which gave it a steely-white appearance. In all accounts it was the last stage of the brass dial and was used mostly between 1780 and 1790. However some West Country examples produced as late as 1840 are not uncommon to see.
The next and last type of dial to appear was the japanned or painted dial. It is difficult to date exactly when these dials first appeared. A few do seem to date from the 1760s, but as of yet no actual evidence exists until 1772. By around 1800 the painted dial had largely superseded the brass dial in popularity. A japanned dial is an iron sheet with its face surface applied with paints. First it is dipped into one or more baths of base paint, normally an off-white colour. Coloured oil paints were then applied by hand for the decoration and black was used for the numerals and lettering. The early painted dials largely followed the design and layout of brass dials, gradually evolving into the large, multi-coloured ones featuring romantic landscapes in the arch and corners seen in the Victorian era.
When trying to date a longcase clock many factors come into play. These clocks are almost always signed to the dial and the simplest way is to get hold of a good book, which lists all the makers, and look the name up. However what if the maker is unrecorded, as many are? Or the clock may be a marriage, i.e. having a movement & dial and case all of different periods. The name on the dial might say that the clockmaker was active c.1720 but the case is made of mahogany, which was not commercially used until after 1740. Only by acquainting oneself with all the different styles, materials and construction used in longcase production can they be dated with any accuracy.
Age is not always an indication of a valuable piece, quality is. The most collected longcases today are the mahogany-veneered ones by London makers. These tend to have very finely figured cases and brass dials. During the last half of the 18th century these would have been found in most well to do homes and there are still a fair number available. However, the true collectors clocks and the most historically important are the very early ones in ebony, walnut & marquetry cases.
The unsurpassed workmanship and technical genius of makers such as Thomas Tompion (1639-1713), Joseph Knibb (1670-1711), Daniel Quare (1648-1724), Edward East (1610-1693) and George Graham (1673-1751), to mention a few, make longcase clocks by them the most desirable and expensive. Couple that with a fabulous provenance and values can go stratospheric.
Valuing an antique longcase clock brings certain questions to mind such as: what is the condition of the clock? How original is it? Do the movement, case, hands, etc. all belong together? Who is the maker? How elegant are the proportions of the case? What restoration has been undertaken in the past? Bad or unskilled restoration is certainly far worse than no restoration at all. Many good clocks have been ruined by a do-it-yourselfer armed with a screwdriver, hammer & pliers. It takes many knowledgable questions to be explored and answered before a considered appraisal can be arrived at. Something that can be expected from the experts at iValuations.
This is a very much a general overview of these fascinating clocks, briefly touching upon some of their components, the subject being too vast to cover comprehensively in this short article. Many excellent books have been written, often only centring on certain aspects such as dials or hands. They not only give understanding into how these clocks came about but also how society developed alongside them. Giving insight into how the way our lives have been shaped by these machines of time.
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