Most longcase clocks are cable-driven, meaning that the weights are suspended by cables.
OLD RIDGEWAY GRANDFATHER CLOCKS FULL
All modern striking longcase clocks have eight-day mechanical quarter chiming and full hour striking movements.
Some 30-hour clocks were made with false keyholes, for customers who wished that guests to their home would think that the household was able to afford the more expensive eight-day clock.
By contrast, 30-hour clocks often had a single weight to drive both the timekeeping and striking mechanisms. Such movements usually have two keyholes, one on each side of the dial to wind each one. Eight-day clocks are often driven by two weights – one driving the pendulum and the other the striking mechanism, which usually consisted of a bell or chimes. A clock with an eight-day movement required winding only once a week, while generally less expensive 30-hour clocks had to be wound every day. Traditionally, longcase clocks were made with two types of movement: eight-day and one-day (30-hour) movements. The two chains attached to the weights and the lack of winding holes in the dial show this to be a 30-hour clock. Most of a longcase clock's height is used to hold the long pendulum and weights. Modern longcase clocks use a more accurate variation of the anchor escapement called the deadbeat escapement. But by 1800 wages had increased enough so that many lower middle class households owned grandfather clocks. In 1680, this was the amount paid by an average working family for a year's rent, so the purchase of clocks was confined to the relatively well-off. The increased accuracy made possible by the anchor motivated the addition of the minute hand to clock faces in the next few decades.īetween 16, the average price of a grandfather clock in England remained steady at £1 10s. The first longcase clocks, like all clocks prior to the anchor escapement, had only one hand an hour hand. Longcase clocks spread rapidly from England to other European countries and Asia. Later the same year, Thomas Tompion, the most prominent British clockmaker, was making them too. īritish clockmaker William Clement, who disputed credit for the anchor escapement with Robert Hooke, made the first longcase clocks by 1680. However, once the seconds pendulum began to be used, this long weight case proved perfect to house it as well. The long narrow case actually predated the anchor clock by a few decades, appearing in clocks in 1660 to allow a long drop for the powering weights. These are about a metre (39 inches) long (to the centre of the bob), requiring a long narrow case. Almost all longcase clocks use a seconds pendulum (also called a "Royal" pendulum ) meaning that each swing (or half-period) takes one second. These consumed less power allowing clocks to run longer between windings, caused less friction and wear in the movement, and were more accurate. The anchor mechanism reduced the pendulum's swing to around 4° to 6°, allowing clockmakers to use longer pendulums, which had slower "beats". Lateral view of a Timothy Mason longcase clock movement with striking mechanism, circa 1730 Today they are kept mainly for their decorative and antique value, having been widely replaced by both analog and digital timekeeping. Until the early 20th century, pendulum clocks were the world's most accurate timekeeping technology, and longcase clocks, due to their superior accuracy, served as time standards for households and businesses. The English clockmaker William Clement is credited with the development of this form in 1670. The case often features elaborately carved ornamentation on the hood (or bonnet), which surrounds and frames the dial, or clock face. Clocks of this style are commonly 1.8–2.4 metres (6–8 feet) tall with an enclosed pendulum and weights suspended by either cables or chains which have to be calibrated occasionally to keep the proper time. This clock is on display in The Prince of Wales Museum in Mumbai and was donated by Dorab Tata.Ī grandfather clock (also a longcase clock, tall-case clock, grandfather's clock, or floor clock) is a tall, freestanding, weight-driven pendulum clock with the pendulum held inside the tower or waist of the case. The lower part of the case depicts mythological scenes and the case was manufactured at the Madras School of Arts. The front and the side panels are done in metal repoussé work with floral meanders.
The original long-case was also replaced by a mandapa-shaped wooden carved case done in South Indian style. The original dial of this clock was replaced by a brass dial with Tamil numerals, perhaps around the same time as the case. This example dates back to 1700 and the case to late 19th – early 20th century CE.