where did the term grandfather clock come from
Longcase clock - wikipedia Longcase clock Jump to : navigation , search `` Grandfather clock '' redirects here . For other uses , see Grandfather clock ( disambiguation ) . 8 day longcase clock . Clock dates back to 1700 and the case to late 19th - early 20th century CE . Original dial of this clock has been replaced by a brass dial with Tamil numerals perhaps during the late 19th or early 20th century CE . Original long - case was also replaced by a mandapa - shaped wooden carved case done in South Indian style . The front and the side panels are done in metal repoussé work with floral meanders . Lower part of the case depicts mythological scenes and the case was manufactured at the Madras School of Arts . Clock on display in The Prince of Wales Museum in Mumbai and was donated by Dorab Tata . A longcase clock , also tall - case clock , floor clock , or grandfather clock , is a tall , freestanding , weight - driven pendulum clock with the pendulum held inside the tower or waist of the case . Clocks of this style are commonly 1.8 -- 2.4 metres ( 6 -- 8 feet ) tall . The case often features elaborately carved ornamentation on the hood ( or bonnet ) , which surrounds and frames the dial , or clock face . The English clockmaker William Clement is credited with the development of this form in 1670 . 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 . Today they are kept mainly for their decorative and antique value . Contents ( hide ) 1 Origin 2 Description 3 Elaborate striking sequences 4 Origin of the term `` grandfather clock '' 5 Types 5.1 Comtoise clocks 5.2 Bornholm clocks and Mora clocks 6 Historical manufacturers 7 Current manufacturers 8 References 9 External links Origin ( edit ) Lateral view of a longcase clock movement without striking mechanism , mid-1800s . The advent of the longcase clock is due to the invention of the anchor escapement mechanism by Robert Hooke around 1658 . Prior to that , pendulum clock movements used an older verge escapement mechanism , which required very wide pendulum swings of about 80 - 100 ° . Long pendulums with such wide swings could not be fitted within a case , so most freestanding clocks had short pendulums . Lateral view of a Timothy Mason longcase clock movement with striking mechanism , circa 1730 The anchor mechanism reduced the pendulum 's swing to around 4 ° to 6 ° , allowing clockmakers to use longer pendulums , which had slower `` beats '' . These consumed less power allowing clocks to run longer between windings , caused less friction and wear in the movement , and were more accurate . Almost all longcase clocks use a seconds pendulum ( also called a `` Royal '' pendulum ) meaning that each swing ( or half - period ) takes one second . These are about a metre ( 39 inches ) long ( to the centre of the bob ) , requiring a long narrow case . 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 . However , once the seconds pendulum began to be used , this long weight case proved perfect to house it as well . British clockmaker William Clement , who disputed credit for the anchor escapement with Robert Hooke , produced the first longcase clocks around 1680 . Within the year Thomas Tompion , the most prominent British clockmaker , was making them too . Modern longcase clocks use a more accurate variation of the anchor escapement called the deadbeat escapement . Description ( edit ) Most of a longcase clock 's height is used to hold the long pendulum and weights . The two chains attached to the weights and the lack of winding holes in the dial show this to be a 30 - hour clock . Traditionally , longcase clocks were made with two types of movement : eight - day and one - day ( 30 - hour ) movements . 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 . 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 . Such movements usually have two keyholes , one on each side of the dial to wind each one . By contrast , 30 - hour clocks often had a single weight to drive both the timekeeping and striking mechanisms . 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 . All modern striking longcase clocks have eight - day movements . Most longcase clocks are cable - driven , meaning that the weights are suspended by cables . If the cable were attached directly to the weight , the load would cause rotation and untwist the cable strands , so the cable wraps around a pulley mounted to the top of each weight . The mechanical advantage of this arrangement also doubles the running time allowed by a given weight drop . Cable clocks are wound by inserting a special crank ( called a `` key '' ) into holes in the clock 's face and turning it . Others , however , are chain - driven , meaning that the weights are suspended by chains that wrap around gears in the clock 's mechanism , with the other end of the chain hanging down next to the weight . To wind a chain - driven longcase clock , one pulls on the end of each chain , lifting the weights until the weights come up to just under the clock 's face . Elaborate striking sequences ( edit ) In the early 20th century , quarter - hour chime sequences were added to longcase clocks . At the top of each hour , the full chime sequence sounds , immediately followed by the hour strike . At 15 minutes after each hour , 1 / 4 of the chime sequence plays , at the bottom of each hour , 1 / 2 of the chime sequence plays , and at 15 minutes before each hour , 3 / 4 of the chime sequence plays . The chime tune used in almost all longcase clocks is Westminster Quarters . Many also offer the option of Whittington chimes or St. Michael 's chimes , selectable by a switch mounted on the right side of the dial , which also allows one to silence the chimes if desired . As a result of adding chime sequences , all modern mechanical longcase clocks have three weights instead of just two . The left weight provides power for the hour strike , the middle weight provides power for the clock 's pendulum and general timekeeping functions , while the right weight provides power for the quarter - hour chime sequences . Origin of the term `` grandfather clock '' ( edit ) Longcase clock circa 1730 by Timothy Mason ( clockmaker ) of Gainsborough , Lincolnshire . The Oxford English Dictionary states that the popular 1876 song My Grandfather 's Clock is responsible for the common name `` grandfather clock '' being applied to the longcase clock . Clock face circa 1730 Timothy Mason ( clockmaker ) of Gainsborough The song was composed by an American songwriter by the name of Henry Clay Work who discovered a long grandfather clock in The George Hotel in Piercebridge , in County Durham in England . When he asked about the clock , he was informed that it had two owners . After the first owner died the clock became inaccurate and when the second owner died , the clock stopped working altogether . The story inspired Henry to create the song . Clock - face signature of Tim Mason Types ( edit ) Comtoise clock Comtoise clocks ( edit ) Comtoise clocks , also known as Morbier clocks or Morez clocks , are a style of longcase clock made in the French region Franche - Comté ( whence their name ) . Features distinguishing this style are a curving `` potbellied '' case and a greater use of curved lines . Often a heavy , elongated , highly ornamented pendulum bob extends up the case ( see photo ) . Production of these clocks began in 1680 and continued for a period of about 230 years . During the peak production years ( 1850 -- 1890 ) over 60,000 clocks were made each year . These clocks were very popular across the generations ; they kept the time on farms throughout France . Many Comtoise clocks can be found in France but they are also frequently found in Spain , Germany , and other parts of Europe , less in the United States . Many Comtoise clocks were also exported to other countries in Europe and even further , to the Ottoman Empire and as far as Thailand . The metal mechanism was usually protected by a wooden sheath . Bornholm clocks and Mora clocks ( edit ) Bornholm clock made by Edvart Sonne , from Rønne , Bornholm in the late 1700s Bornholm clocks are Danish longcase clocks and were made on Bornholm from 1745 to 1900 . In Sweden a special variety of longcase clocks was made in Mora , called Mora clocks . Bornholm clock - making began in the 1740s when an English ship , which had longcase clocks in its hold , was stranded . They were sent for repair to a turner named Poul Ottesen Arboe in Rønne and as a result of his repair of them he learned enough about clocks to begin to make his own . Historical manufacturers ( edit ) Longcase clock from about 1750 in the District Museum in Tarnów in Poland , mounted with use of imported components marked Wiliam Jourdain London and adorned with chinoiserie motifs . Clockmakers in Britain John Alker or Alker of Wigan , Lancashire Allam & Clements William Barrow , London Thomas Birchall Nantwich , Cheshire Joseph Bowles , Winbourne ( i.e. : Wimbourne ) , Dorset . Active 1791 Samuel Bowles , Wimbourne , Dorset Robert Bryson , Edinburgh William Bucknall , Burslem ( Stoke - on - Trent ) Thomas Bullock , Bath John Calver , Woodbridge , Suffolk Thomas Cartwright John Clement & Son ( Tring , Hertfordshire ) Richard Donisthorp ( fl. 1797 ) , of Loughborough Matthew & Thomas Dutton Peter Fearnley , Wigan John Fernhill , Wrexham Thomas Hackney , London , c. 1700 -- 1750 Edward Harrison , Warrington John Harrison , Wakefield / Barrow - in - Furness / London Nathaniel Hedge , Colchester Holmes James Howden , Edinburgh Thomas Husband , Hull Thomas Johnson William Lassell ( 1758 -- 1790 ) , Toxteth Park , Liverpool Timothy Mason Gainsborough , Lincolnshire Alexander Miller , Montrose Peddie Stirling , Scotland Daniel Quare Thomas Ross , Hull John Snelling , Alton Trubshaw James Woolley Codnor Thomas Worswick , Lancaster Thomas Wright Henry Young , Swaffham John Wyld , Nottingham Clockmakers in Ireland W Egan & Sons , Cork Ezekiel Bullock , Lurgan Clockmakers in Finland Masters of Könni Könnin mestarit ( 1757 -- 1865 ) , Ilmajoki Finnish Museum of Horology is master of Jaakko Könni manufactured table clocks and pocket watches Ilmajoki Museum is Masters of Könni manufactured horse vehicles , clocks , looms , locks , tools , machine of gear `` keervärkki '' Clockmakers in the United States Aaron Brokaw ( 1768 -- 1853 ) , Bridge Town , New Jersey Isaac Brokaw ( 1746 -- 1826 ) , Bridge Town , New Jersey Silas Merriman ( 1733 -- 1805 ) , New Haven , Connecticut Aaron Miller ( -- 1778 ) , Elizabeth Township , New Jersey Luman Watson ( 1790 -- 1834 ) , Cincinnati Simon Willard ( 1753 -- 1848 ) , Roxbury , Massachusetts Zachariah Grandfather Clocks ( 1975 -- 1987 ) , Chicago , Illinois Clock case manufacturer in Australia Harry Williams -- Oxford Cabinet Company Pty Ltd ( 1946 -- 1961 ) , Granville , NSW , Australia Current manufacturers ( edit ) Hermle Clocks -- Amherst VA Howard Miller Clock Company -- Zeeland MI Ridgeway Clocks ( Owned now by Howard Miller Clock Co . ) References ( edit ) ^ Jump up to : Headrick , Michael ( 2002 ) . `` Origin and Evolution of the Anchor Clock Escapement '' . Control Systems magazine , . Vol. 22 no . 2 . Inst. of Electrical and Electronic Engineers . Archived from the original on October 26 , 2009 . Retrieved 2007 - 06 - 06 . Jump up ^ Nelthropp , H. Leonard ( 1873 ) . A Treatise on Watch - Work , Past and Present . London : E. & F.N. Spon . p. 84 . Jump up ^ Barnett , Jo Ellen ( 1999 ) . Time 's Pendulum : From Sundials to Atomic Clocks , the Fascinating History of Timekeeping and how Our Discoveries Changed the World . Houghton Mifflin Harcourt . pp. 91 -- 92 . ISBN 0 - 15 - 600649 - 9 . Jump up ^ Chappell , Jessica ( 2000 ) . `` The Long Case Clock : The science and engineering that goes into a grandfather clock '' . Illumin . Viterbi School of Engineering , USC. 1 ( 0 ) : 4 . Retrieved 2008 - 06 - 19 . ^ Jump up to : Moore , N. Hudson Moore ( 1903 ) . The Old Furniture Book . New York : Frederick A. Stokes Company . p. 205 . Jump up ^ `` Oxford English Dictionary '' ( available online to subscribers , also in print ) . Retrieved 2009 - 04 - 19 . Grandfather 's clock ( suggested by a song which was popular about 1880 ) , a furniture - dealer 's name for the kind of weight - and - pendulum eight - day clock in a tall case , formerly in common use ; also grandfather clock ( now the usual name ) : ( 1876 H.C. WORK Grandfather 's Clock , My grandfather 's clock was too large for the shelf , So it stood ninety years on the floor . ) External links ( edit ) Media related to Longcase clocks at Wikimedia Commons `` About Swedish Mora Clocks '' . Moraclock.com . GND : 4056929 - 9 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Longcase_clock&oldid=822868320 '' Categories : Clock designs Longcase clocks Hidden categories : Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Dansk Deutsch Français 한국어 Bahasa Melayu Русский Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 28 January 2018 , at 23 : 50 . About Wikipedia
1. Longcase clock
2. Grandfather clock
3. Anchor escapement mechanism
4. Pendulum clock
5. Chime sequences