It is very difficult to envisage a world without longcase clocks, for several hundreds of years they have proudly embellished households, from cottages to grand mansions, the faces looking down from their lofty perch on cases styled in a variety of fashions befitting the era and region they were made.

It is generally accepted that the first longcase clocks resulted from the use of the ‘long’ pendulum and the necessity to house this within a case. The earliest instances of this were during the 1660s (great fire of London era for historical context) and from these early prototypes the longcase clock was born. They have been made continuously up until the present day, albeit since the later 1800s in ‘re-issue’ form. After 350 years or so of continuous production it is no wonder that so many longcase clocks still exist!

To clarify the various styles and developments I will look at approximately 50 year periods from their origin.

It should also be noted that longcase clocks come in two main types, 8-day and 30-hour. Traditionally 8-day clocks were more luxurious and complex items for richer clients, 30 hour clocks were generally smaller and simpler.

 

1660 to 1720. The ‘golden age’ of English clockmaking.

This period is associated with the greatest names in clockmaking, Thomas Tompion, Edward East, Daniel Quare, Joseph Windmills, to name a few. The earliest prototype longcase clocks quickly developed into fairly small 8-day longcase clocks (by todays standards) with around 10 inch square dials and slender cases. While the very early clocks had simple, austere cases, the opportunity to use styles popular in contemporary furniture was soon recognised. Walnut veneers and then marquetry became popular. Dials gradually increased in size, firstly to around 11 inches square (1690s) and then 12 inches (mostly after 1700). Cases progressed through floral marquetry which tended to become more detailed towards the end of the century, then ‘seaweed’ (finer patterned) marquetry. A fashion for lacquer/ Chinoiserie cases also started from the very early 1700s. Right at the end of this period the arch dial started to be used and would then dominate.

 

 

1720 to 1770. Provincial development.

The longcase clock trade quickly spread to the provinces. Styles changed and often became distinctive to a certain region. The arch dial allowed clockmakers to add extra features to their clocks, moon-phases, automata etc. Longcase clocks generally became bigger as ceiling heights became higher. From around 1750 mahogany became available and quickly dominated for luxury clock cases. The ‘boom’ cities such as Manchester and Liverpool produced many excellent clockmakers who made large and impressive clocks for their wealthy clients. ‘Chippendale’ features became popular in Northern clocks. Clocks still had brass/ silvered dials, the style often became simpler and clearer towards the end of this period, lots of exceptions though! 12 inch dial width (plus arch) was most common but 13 inch started to be used more towards the end of this period.

 

 

1770 to 1820. White dials

 From around the mid 1770s ‘white’ or painted (japanned) dials became increasingly popular. James Wilson in partnership with Thomas Hadley Osborne started making these dials for clockmakers. This then became the dominant dial style for the next 100 years or so. Brass dials were still used, the final type of brass dial was a single sheet of silvered brass with engraved detail. White dials went through various styles, the earliest were copies of brass dials with decorated corner ‘spandrels’, 1790s often used pictures of flowers or fruits, by 1800 more elaborate pictures or geometric patterns. The 1800 to 1820 period is typified by Arabic numerals instead of Roman (there are exceptions). Although there are regional variances, case style tended to get bigger and wider in general, particularly after 1800. Dials also became bigger, 13 or 14 inch became more common.

 

 

1820 to 1870. Cheaper clocks, moving more towards mass-production

Factory parts were now available for clockmakers to order, generally longcase clocks became cheaper and more common because more of the population could afford them. Painted dials dominate this period although in general not as well made as the earlier clocks. Case styles come in many different regional varieties, the tendency was generally towards a wider look with shorter doors and extra panels. Some of the later clocks are massively wide, more like wardrobes!

1870 onwards. Re-issues of earlier styles

This is where it can get a bit confusing! During the later Victorian period (and later) there was a tendency to look back to previous styles. For example, a clock would be made with a brass dial mimicking an early Georgian clock. I have seen many a clock of this type described as ‘Georgian’ by auction houses. If you look at the movement it should be obvious because that would be in the contemporary style, also the engraving tends to be different when you look closely. These clocks were not designed to deceive, they were a Victorian homage to a historic style which they found pleasing. The real progression is in the style of movement, a typical Victorian movement is heavily engineered, generally bigger than earlier examples. This continued into the Edwardian (after 1900) period but later in the century movements became much smaller and consequently much less durable.