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Antique Clocks – Which Monarch Ruled ?

I have been asked many times over the years which clocks I would choose. Also which period of clockmaking I consider to be the finest in the last 200 or 300 hundred years. I will be considering these points in my brief outline of the Monarchs of Britain since 1689. Most grandfather clocks are made after this period and so it seems like a good place to start.

William and Mary were offered the throne of the British Isles in Feb 1689 after the overthrow of King James II of England. This period was called the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

William and Mary     –           Feb 1689- March 1702

Lots of special walnut, marquetry and ebony grandfather clocks were manufactured during this period, many of the dials were of only 10 inches across.

Queen Anne               –          8th  March 1702 -1st August 1714

The stand out date within Queen Anne’s reign was 1st May 1707. This is when The Act of Union was signed. The Kingdom’s of England and Scotland were united under one sovereign state. The Kingdom of Great Britain. With the clock world this date has an influence on the brass dials produced around this time. You will see brass dials with the Maltese Cross spandrels symbolising the Act of Union.

It is now we come to the greatest period of clockmaking within these Isles in my opinion. The Georgian Period, stretching from 1714 to 1820. The last 9 years of which were classified as Regency, as the good old George III went slightly mad.

George I             –            1st Aug 1714 – 11th August 1727

A continuation of the lovely walnut, marquetry and lacquer grandfather clocks produced earlier. The introduction of the arched dial grandfather clock in this period around C1715

George II         –             11th June 1727- 25th October 1760

At the end of this period we see the introduction of the fine mahogany veneers. Cuban and Honduras mahogany clocks being a particular favourite of mine.

George III       –          25th October 1760 – 29th Jan 1820

So much happens in this period of clockmaking. It really is the golden age in my opinion. The white dial was introduced, these started in Birmingham. By the end of the 18th century over 50% of the clocks manufactured had a white dial. The brass dial that had dominated clocks for the preceeding 100 years production. They were in sharp decline.

From 1811 to 1820 another important period in antiques is called the Regency Period. Many fine clocks were made in this period, particularly bracket and wall clocks. You see the introduction of things like brass inlays etc.

George IV      –           29th Jan 1820 – 26th June 1830

The end of the Georgian period of clockmaking in the golden age.

William IV     –          26th June 1830- 20 June 1837

In my opinion most grandfather clocks made for the mass market were of inferior quality of construction by this date. Compared to the previous 100 years, many were wider and of poorer quality construction. It is now that the clockmaker sells to retailers more and more. The name to the dial is increasingly the retailer of the clock not the actual clockmaker. Movements are still of good quality but the cabinets tend to be not to everyones tastes.

Victoria         –            20th June 1837 – 22 Jan 1901

I think this is an appropriate place to end my look back of a few hundred years of clockmaking. Victoria’s reign oversaw a massive period in Britain’s history. The advent of industrialization. The furniture made during this period is always more elaborate. Many pieces of furniture are highly carved. For me though clockmaking in the UK is in further decline for the mass market. The individual brilliance of the clockmaker is being, in most cases, turned into a production line where very few special items are produced. When they were produced they were knockout but in general this was not the case. I suppose as labour costs and mechanization increased, quality unfortunately took a back seat. Clocks were more affordable to the mass market though. There were clearly exceptions to the above statements, especially when items were made specially to order.

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Clocks – UK / USA

It is Ryder Cup weekend again. Great sporting battles between Europe and America at golf come to a head. These are friendly sporting battles but lets not forget the close ties between our great nations.

 

 

Exporting clocks

In the 17th and 18th century clock manufacture was the UK’s greatest export. The Clockmaker’s Company was formed as one of the UK’s oldest learned professions by Royal Charter in 1631. This started two centuries of UK dominance in this field. It was just before this in 1620 that the famous Mayflower set sail for America.

The Mayflower Boston Journey

The Mayflower has a famous place in American history. It is a symbol of early European colonization of the future United States. This ship set off from Plymouth, England to arrive at the now Plymouth, Massachusetts. It is the same reason why Boston, Massachusetts is called so today. John Cotton, a Puritan,who served as a Minster of the church in Boston, Lincolnshire England fled persecution. He moved to Massachusetts in 1633 as a leader of the settlers already there and some of his own people. He was instrumental in founding and naming Boston, Massachusetts.

American Clockmaking

Clock makers from the UK arrived in America, William Davis for instance is one of the earliest clock makers in America. He arrived in 1683 from the UK. Many of the oldest clocks on US public buildings were made by UK clock makers. These had fled for mostly religious reasons. New England had thus developed and the English community was strong here as thousands emigrated to the emerging America.

Ban Importation of Clocks

During the 18th century many English clocks were still imported to the US. One of the first things the new independent government did in US was to ban the importation of clocks. It is still the case though that many of the earliest American clock makers were English. They still imported dials etc from the new painted dial works (set up in 1771) in Birmingham, England and movements from the UK.

Rise of American Clock making

The rise of the American clock making industry from about 1850 to 1920’s coincided with the decline of the same in the UK.  Generally as quality went down and mass production rose, the US factories now churned out clocks better than anywhere else. Many famous 19th century American companies were set up, many of them in Conneticut. The Ansonia Company was founded in 1851 and thrived until its decline in the 1920’s. There was the Gilbert Company in the second half of the 19th century The famous Seth Thomas Company and many many more. The Waterbury Clock Company is one I will finish with.

Waterbury Clock Company

This company started in 1857, eventually became the Time Corporation, that made Timex watches. As a collector, I am only really interested in the first 200 years of clockmaking. Items were then handmade and were alot higher quality. There are always exceptions though and we have a clock made by the Waterbury Clock Company. This I believe is a one off, made for Christchurch Cathedral in Dublin. Its movement is of good quality and shows little signs of wear. It is a really rare and interesting example. This is pictured below. I suppose it also shows the strong Irish / American links that existed during the 19th century.
 

Conclusion

Visit our shop in London, if you love 18th century antique grandfather clocks like me. We have a large selection of genuine fantastic examples all fully restored. These clocks will keep ticking for generations to come. If you consider the painstaking hours in the manufacture. They represent amazing value for money by todays standards. Remember London was the centre of clock making from 1631 to the start of the 19th century century, some outstanding pieces were produced. 80% of our clocks from our shop in London, Pendulum of Mayfair Ltd,  are still exported to America. Owning your piece of history is easier than you think. We use a specialist antique shipping company that ships antique clocks to you door. Please visit our website for more information www.pendulumofmayfair.co.uk

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Antique Barometers

 

 

Evangelista Torricelli

Evangelista Torricelli is widely credited with the invention of the first barometer. Torricelli studied the workings of the great Galileo. He worked in the field of vacuum theory. Torricelli noticed weather changes effected the height of the liquid in Galileo’s water vacuum apparatus. These weather changes were related to air pressure fluctuations. One problem Torricelli had was the water vacuum apparatus required a tube 35ft long at sea level.

An era of suspicious people

This meant on his home the apparatus he built was taller than his roof. People were very suspicious of strange experiments at the time and being accused of witchcraft was commonplace. He therefore needed to do something to keep his experiments more secretive. Discussion with Galileo before his untimely death in 1642 convinced Torricelli on the need to use a heavier material the water.

Use of Mercury

Mercury or Quicksilver as it was then called was used. Mercury is 14 times or thereabouts heavier than water. Torricelli found he only required a tube 32 inches long to keep his experiments going. It was therefore in 1643 the first working publicized barometer was invented. Torricelli died in 1647. Some of our barometers can be found by clicking here. https://www.pendulumofmayfair.co.uk/category/antiques-furnuture-clocks-rare-items .

Lots of Experiments on Pressure

Many people copied and perfected Torricelli’s experiments. Blaise Pascal and in September 1648 Florin Perier who was the brother-in-law to Pascal. At his request he took his barometer to the top of mountain. He lived here to see what effect it had on the height of the mercury. Pascals predictions were correct, the mercury was lower the higher one went.

Weather instruments for general sale

It was not until about 1670 that barometers were starting to be sold and used in private homes. Lower pressures are associated with poorer weather and vice versa. It was found on fine sunny days the mercury stood at above 30 inches. On dull rainy days it stood at below 29 inches.  It was decided anywhere in-between was changeable weather. A scale of 28 to 31 inches was decided upon and Fair. Changeable and Rain was engraved to the scale to correspond to the pressures. Later Stormy and Very Dry was added to the charts to correspond to 28 and 31 in Hg

Robert Boyle

Robert Boyle seems to be the first person to introduce the barometer to England. He was a writer and a student in Italy at the time of Torricelli’s experiments and studied the writings of Galileo. On his return to England he conducted various experiments of his own in this regard and came up with the famous Boyle’s Law deduction.

Daniel Clements

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The most famous clock in the world – Big Ben

Big Ben

 

The worlds most photographed antique clock has been standing proudly to dominate London’s skyline for over 150 years. Big Ben is how everyone has come to call it,  is the nickname for the great bell of the clock. Now everyone refers to Big Ben as the overall clock and tower. The tower as it so happens is to be renamed the Elizabeth Tower in honour of the Queen. This is to celebrate the Queen’s 60 year reign.

Great Tom

The clock tower as we know today as ‘Big Ben’ is not the first clock tower to stand in Parliament’s grounds. The first tower nicknamed ‘Great Tom’ was built in 1288-90. A second tower replaced the first in 1367 and this was the first chiming public clock in England. In 1707 this tower had fallen into a state of disrepair and was demolished. When a terrible fire destroyed most of the Palace of Westminster in 1834, architects submitted designs for the new Palace. Of the 97 designs submitted, Sir Charles Barry’s was picked. His design did not originally have a clock tower but this was added to his design in 1836. Construction of this tower began in 1843.

Dent Clockmaker

Clearly the manufacture of the mechanism for the clock needed to be done by a specialist. The Queens clockmaker at the time was Vulliamy and he wanted to design and make the clock. Other specialist clockmakers also believed they should make the clock. A series of disputes therefore resulted and it was decided to appoint a referee to make the decision on who made the clock. The decision was left to the Astronomer Royal, Sir George Airy. He set the standards by which the clock must keep, Denision a barrister and gitfted amateur clockmaker assisted in this decision.

Delays in Building Big Ben

All this led to delays in the decision. It was not until Feb 1852 that it was decided that Dent was to  build the clock to Denison’s own design. Dent died in 1853 and so the clock was completed by Dents stepson, Frederick in 1854. It cost £2,500 to make. The tower itself was still not finished though and so the clock was kept at Dents factory in the meantime.

Denison Design

Denison made refinements to the clock while waiting for the clock tower to be finished (1859). He invented a ‘Double Three-legged Gravity Escapement’. This was a revolutionary and an ingenious invention and refinement. It made sure the pendulum was unaffected by external factors, such as wind pressure on the clock hands. A constant impulse was always applied to the pendulum. This escapement won worldwide acclaim, it is now known as the ‘ Grimthorpe escapement’, and Denision was later made Baron Grimthorpe in 1886 as a result.

Long Pendulum of Big Ben

The pendulum to the clock is 13 feet long and installed in a windproof box, it beats every 2 seconds. On top of this pendulum there are old coins. Adding weight to the top of the pendulum will lift the pendulum’s centre of gravity and thus shorten the effective length of the pendulum. This has the effect of speeding the clock up by just under half a second a day.

Symbol of London Big Ben

The clock has become one of the main symbols for the United Kingdom and London in particular. From the news programs like ITN to New Year celebrations, to General Election’s end of voting. Big Ben is the centre of our life. It stands proud and has had numerous years superb service. It has sted the test of time and London would not be the same without it. A truly remarkable achievement. The clocks Westminster Chime is typical of clocks after C.1860 and is found on many modern clocks. Most Georgian antique clocks just strike the hour on a single bell.

Daniel Clements – www.pendulumofmayfair.co.uk

 

 

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Public clocks

Chester Eastgate Clock

In this piece I will be carrying on from researching antique clock makers. I suggested visiting the 17th/18th century church in the town your grandfather clock was built. Clock makers often repaired the local church clock. These public clocks used what we call Turret clock movements to operate a series of dials in the church tower.

Turret Clocks

Most churches generally had a clock in the tower. A turret clock is the technical name for any large exterior public clock. These clocks can be in churches, town halls, banks, stable blocks, pretty much anywhere. We have installed these in homes and shops as a centre piece.

Outside Clocks Mechanical or Electric

Modern day clocks like this may use electric motors to drive the hands. All antique turret clocks have a large mechanical movement, the frame is normally made of cast iron. The movement is driven by large weights and a large pendulum. Normally the escapement will beat 1 1/4 seconds or more, this is why you will not normally see seconds hands on these public clocks.  The public only ever normally see the clock dial, which again is normally a cast iron dial, with counter balanced clock hands. The hands will need to be counter balanced to stop them swinging down to the six o’clock position and stopping the clock. For more information e.mail mePendulumClocks@aol.com.

Timepiece or Striking Public Clocks

The clocks movements can be timepiece or they can normally strike the hour on a single bell. Maintenance is required every 20 years or so and oiling every year. They are built basically along the same lines as a grandfather clock movement but everything is on a larger scale. Information about turret clocks can be found in various places on the internet. The company Smiths of Derby are still in existence and they still make and repair turret clocks today.

Chester Eastgate Clock

The clock pictured on my blog is a famous clock from the town of Chester. Chester a lovely northern city, the clock is called the Eastgate Clock. The mechanism was manufactured by the famous clockmakers Joyce of Whitchurch. Chester’s Eastgate Clock has 4 dials. The time can be seen from Chesters famous Roman walls and from the streets from the other two sides. This clock is one of the most photographed in the world. I think we all know what the no.1 photographed clock is in the world. In my blog next week we will look at this clock, the one and only Big Ben.

 

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Antique Clock Descriptions

Antique Bracket Clock
Antique Mantel Clock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alot of people get confused why there are so many names to describe certain antique clocks. I noticed recently on Wikipedia for a search for Longcase clocks you will see they also get regularly called grandfather or tall-case clocks.

Grandfather, Longcase or Tallcase Clocks

Tall-case is a name commonly used for a grandfather clock in the USA. On the Wikipedia site it also mentions the terms grandmother and grand-daughter clocks. It informs us that the difference is as a result of the height. This is true to some extent as clearly grand-daughter clocks are smaller than their larger counterpart, the grandfather. It would be to simplistic to take this as the only reason for the name change though.

Apprentice Piece or Grand-daughter Clock

For instance if you had a small 18th century oak longcase clock under 6ft, you would not call this a grandmother clock. All 17th and 18th century clocks can only really be described as either a longcase , grandfather or as people from USA like to say tall-case clocks.

The date of manufacture and height is important

The date is also important when describing antique clocks. Grandmother and grand-daughter clocks were really smaller examples produced post C1880. We have some very small C1790 floor standing clocks. I would call these miniature longcase clocks or apprentice pieces. The wording can get blurred here to some extent. It would not be unheard of to call these 18th grand-daughter clocks but I think period grand-daughter clocks (18th century) need to be differentiated from the later counterparts. (19th and 20th century).

Bracket or Mantel Clocks

I would like to finish this blog about the differences between what I call bracket clocks and mantel clocks. Again the easy difference is an age thing. 17th / 18th and clocks up to about C1850 will be commonly called antique bracket clocks. Later clocks from about C1850 to modern day examples are called mantel clocks. All bracket clocks will have English quality fusee movements.

English, German or French Movements

The mantel clocks can have going barrel English, German movement or possibly French movements. From the term bracket clocks you will assume no doubt that the difference is the earlier clocks had a seperate wall bracket that they stood on. This is not the case as only some bracket clocks were produced with actual brackets. Most were put on the large Georgian fireplaces. From a simplistic point of view if the clock has a fusee movement it would normally be called a bracket clock. Most mantel clocks do not have fusee movements.

Fusee Movements

17th ,18th and early 19th  century fusee antique bracket clocks are highly sought after. When they were introduced they were a real technological achievement. They actually were more expensive than the equivalent grandfather, only the top 5% of gentry could afford such clocks.

Daniel R Clements

 

 

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Security Tips at Home To Protect Your Valuables and Your Family

Security is an important aspect of any home. You do not need antiques to be a target for the thief. Clearly these people are normally after your small valuable items, like cash, jewellery, gold and silver, even video recoders. etc. All these items are easily sold on or with your gold items, melted down and sold for scrap.

Top tips to Help with Security

When someone enters your home without permission, we feel violated, and it is something you will never forget. It is a good idea for your home to be your castle and make it secure. This may not be necessarily just for the sake of your valuables but for the protection of yourselves and your family.

My first advice is for you to contact three bodies. 1) Your local Crime Protection Officer , he or she will help you in many ways.

Ask for Independent Advice

1)They will give you some good advice to improve on your security.

2) Contact your local Fire Prevention Officer. They will come out and make sure after you have secured your home. You have proper escape routes should the worst happen. Protecting your home so that no-one enters is one thing. Please make sure in case of fire, you can get out.

3) Your local Neighborhood Watch scheme is also a good thing, they will keep you updated on what is happening around your area.

High quality Door and Window Locks

I believe it is important to install high quality window and door locks. Do not just leave the keys in these so the thief can unlock from the inside after gaining entry. They can then make a quick exit. One really cheap way of vastly increasing your home security is to purchase some bolts for all your internal doors. These are quick to fit, can be easily unlocked in case of fire. No issue with finding the key, and the intruder cannot break an upstairs or downstairs window and reach you. He will be confined to the room he gained entry to.

Picture Your Valuables

It is important to photograph all your valuable or sentimental belongings. Record any specific marks or features and take a note of the height. You could mark or microchip belongings as well. Photographs and having an up to date valuation if you have the items insured will greatly enhance the chance of having you items returned. If not at least you will be in a good position with the insurance company. It is important to have this information and pictures not in your home. It should be kept in a safe deposit box, bank or at a solicitors.

Screw to Wall

All grandfather clocks we advise screwing to the wall, any measures like this will also slow the thief down. Robbers are interested in getting in and out in a short as time as possible. Items like jewellery and gold is most vunerable not large antiques. A thief will normally scan your home for weaknesses, make sure you do not have any. He will then go elsewhere if he sees issues.

Buy an Alarm

Having a top quality alarm and for this to be monitored is important. Have the police on stand-by with panic alarms is also good for peace of mind.

We are resident at our premises 24/7 365 days a year and have various other important security features. If you do leave your home unattended, lock and shut all internal doors. Set your alarm, set lights to come on with time clocks at random during the night. Tell tell your neighbors you are going away. As with anything in life if you notice something suspicious note it down.

Conclusion

I am no expert in security but I hope there are some features listed above that you think are useful and may implement. Please do contact the specialist bodies though. It is amazing with all this help and advice out there, many people take security for granted, with the old adage, it won’t happen to me.

Daniel Clements

https://www.pendulumofmayfair.co.uk

 

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Shipping Fine Clocks

At present our family antiques business probably ships about 60% of its total sales of antique clocks. They go abroad to countries like USA , Canada, Australia and China. For shipments to these countries antique clocks need to be professionally packed.  So what does this entail?

Packing Clocks For Export

After you have purchased your antique clock we offer a full door to door shipping service. This is provided at present by a superb company that we have used for many years called the British Shop. They will pick the clock up from our shop in London or our premises in Cheshire and arrange for a crate to be made. This is for the trunk, hood and movement. They export and deliver to your home. The timber crate is necessary when export packing. The clock with have tissue/bubble wrap all around the polished surfaces, and then the trunk will be held down in the crate by battons. Further layers of bubble wrap and packing will then be used to fill the voids and further the item further.

Good packing minimizes transport risk

The parts of the clock will usually be kept seperate to ensure they can not damage one another. The crate will then be screwed down and be ready for transport either by air or sea freight. I always recommend air freight as it is far quicker.

Setting Up Instructions

All documentation will be provided with the antique clocks to ensure they pass customs. Full setting up instructions are always available on our website or included with the crate.

It is important in my opinion to use a specialist antique shipper to minimize the possibility of any damage during transport. Accidents do happen from time to time though and so make sure you take out the proper insurance for your peace of mind.

On delivery of your crate, please check all items have arrived in perfect condition as the shipper normally has a time frame in which he requires any damage to be noted and the insurance company informed. When the clock arrives always make sure you keep the antique clock in the correct humidity conditions. Above 40% to about 65% R.H is about ideal.

Value for Money

Clearly the UK was the centre of antique clock manufacture and the best clocks made in the 17th and 18th centuries were in the UK. If you are from the USA or other countries around the world, visiting the UK on holiday. Then choosing your very own antique clock is a special experience. We welcome our foreign customers and can provide them with special export prices. On antique grandfather clocks we are running a special promotion at the moment. This normally means we can discount the clock for you to effectively cover the cost of export shipping door to door.

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Careers in Horology

It is this time of year when many students start thinking about careers. Working in the field of antique clocks as a horologist can be very rewarding.

The horologist was a top profession in the 18th century

In the 17th and 18th centuries it was one of the top professions. Now I suppose the doctors and dentists or bankers and accountants are today.  It is a shame that many colleges do not offer courses in horology but some still do.  West Dean College still provides excellent courses in horology. There is an excellent article in the Independant newspaper on these horology courses and ‘breathing life into old treasures’. It is possible to do home study courses in horology with the British Horological Intstitute. It is also possible to do a BA Hons course at Birmingham City University in horology.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Excellent Career Path

I believe it is an excellent career path for young students. What I have found in the last 20 years or so is many people retiring into studying horology. This is fine but if young people knew how rewarding learning and working with antique clocks was, they would gain a head start in the field. Many people retire to work in horology as it has many benefits. It brings enjoyment in bringing something special back to life. Many workshops can be setup at home and so it is a great way to work for yourself and be your own boss.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is also a great career path to other forms of engineering or maybe working as a specialist auctioneer of clocks and watches. Working and repairing antique clocks brings you lots of knowledge along the way about the way things were made. Knowing how to date antique clocks for auctioneering. This is all valuable information and a great basis from which you can carve out a valuable and rewarding career in what ever you then may choose to do.

Specialize in clocks

There are fewer specialists in this field today and so a bigger chance to make a name for yourself. In the 17th and 18th century every little village had its own clockmaker and London was the centre of clockmaking with the Clockmaker’s Company. Today there are few world recognized horologists. George Daniels was a watchmaker who was regarded as a special talent, he died recently. He gave alot to his field and certainly made a difference. It is certainly possible with the right enthusiasm and drive for students who enter this field today. Make the same difference and to enjoy what they do. I suppose this is a rare in many jobs today. Most people go to work to earn a living, but to actually enjoy your job, this is what makes your job special.

Daniel R Clements – Pendulum of Mayfair Ltd

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Researching Antique Clocks

 

I get asked about 4 or 5 times a day if I know anything or know how you can find more information about a particular clock maker. This is another special aspect of buying an antique clock, you are able to research about the maker.

Antique Clock Makers

Clearly it is important first to check your clock is genuine and the makers name which will be engraved to the dial. Check this has always been there, and has not been altered. Sometimes makers names have been changed for more famous names etc to try and increase the value. I always say be very careful if whoever you are buying your clock from really focuses on the maker and not alot else. A quality clock maker with lots written about him in the books will mean a quality case and a quality movement. Names are sometimes put on the chapter ring or on a cartouche. Certain makers have certain styles or features and an expert can recognize their work.

Clock Books

After you have checked the name on your clock dial, one of the best research books for all 18th century clock makers, is a book called G.H.Baillie – Watchmakers & Clockmakers of the World Volume 1 ISBN 7198 0040 4 . Clearly Volume 2 is on later makers.

This book is a good starting point to your research on the clock maker. Do not worry if you do not find your clockmaker listed. Every little town in the 18th century had clockmakers and not everyone is listed.

Visiting the local historic church

To find more information about the maker, I suggest visiting the town of your clock. Say for instance your clock was Henry Lane of Dundee and nothing was written about this maker. I suggest going on a researching holiday up to Dundee for a week. More often than not there is an 18th century church in that town, this is the place to start you search. The clockmaker on your dial will be either buried there, or have repaired the church clock at sometime. They then will be listed in the church records. If you have the time you will find so much information that can not be found in any book.

If you have a genuine or wish to buy a genuine 18th century antique clock this can be quite a fun research project for one holiday. You can not do this with most pieces of furniture. I just believe it brings an added smile to your face when you find the history behind your clock. These clocks that can be still ticking many centuries later in your living room. It is good to add any information you have found to the back of the clock door for all subsequent owners of the clock.