History of Grandfather Clocks

Search:

History of Grandfather Clocks

Grandfather clocks have not been around forever. Humans have attempted to find the most reliable way to keep track of time since the beginning of civilization. When they first attempted to track time, it was done so through the tracking of the phases of the moon in the nighttime sky. In the earliest days, the seasons, months and years were

tracked by carefully monitoring the phases of the moon. As the years passed by, it was the sun and stars that became the known way for civilizations to keep track of time.

The Sumerian civilization began to use the device known as the sundial to break out days into even two-hour blocks. The Egyptian civilization used a device that did the same thing, which became Cleopatra�s Needle. The Ancient Romans were the first to divide the day into day and night increments.

An increasing desire for more precise measurements stemmed the invention of the water clock, and then later on came the hourglass. These two time tracking inventions were limited, as they depended upon water and sand to function properly. Still, people wanted ways to track time that did not depend upon seasonal forces.

The first form of grandfather clocks surfaced in 1582. Although not called that when discovered, Galileo found that a pendulum could be used to track time. Once that was figured out, the designs for a grandfather clock, though he did not build it, were first put into motion. Then, years later in 1656, Christiaan Huygens constructed the first known grandfather clock, putting Galileo�s discovery to use and brought his plans to fruition. Although a significant breakthrough, the clock was not able to keep accurate time. This does not deter from the fact that it was a major breakthrough in the technological world of timekeeping. As the years passed, many inventors put their own touches on this clock to maintain accurate time, but all failed.

Some years later in 1670 the English clockmaker William Clement noticed that a longer pendulum kept better time, so he lengthened the pendulum to over three feet. This of course required a longer case for the clockworks, and so the longcase clock was born � that was the beginning of the Grandfather Clock.

Huygens�s invention however allowed clocks to run accurately to the point of three minutes loss or gain per day. In 1721 George Graham noticed that temperature changes in the pendulum of a grandfather clock would make it run slowly or fast. Graham improved the grandfather clock by compensating for the temperature changes in the pendulums. His changes lead to grandfather clocks that were accurate to 1 second a day.

But it was not until a song from Henry Work in 1875, did we get the name grandfather clock. The name was from one of his songs, and the name has stuck.

Grandfather clocks have been around a long time now. They have essentially evolved from wall clocks. With the pendulums becoming longer and longer, eventually, they became less specialized and the new makers put them into into long cases so they could be placed on the floor, and thus turned into long case clocks. Many more improvements occurred over time and refined them into the modern clocks you see today. The advancements resulted in an increase in precision that meant the clocks held time to within a few seconds variance per week. This was the start of the popularity of grandfather clocks due to their ability to keep time so accurately. Enhancements led to different dial features and the ability of the clocks to strike every quarter-hour. As time progressed, these clocks became a popular fixture in the homes of the upper classes, especially grandfather clocks. They still all tend to have similar characteristics and styles. Tall, wooden, usually with ornate carvings and one or more songs.

Classification

They are pendulum driven clocks in a tall wooden cases. These clocks stand on the floor and are six to eight feet tall. They usually has a classic architecture but over time different styles have come into and out of favour.

Name/Design

During the late 1600's a minute hand was added, and eventually a glass front was introduced to better display the internal workings of the pendulum, chains, and weights. These lovely timepieces were not referred to as grandfather clocks but rather were called "long case" clocks or "floor" clocks until nearly 1900. Some people called them coffin

clocks because the long cases looked liked coffins. Throughout these early years, grandfather clocks were made almost exclusively for people of noble heritage.

The term grandfather clock for long case or floor clocks became widespread in England and America by the 1880s thanks to a song composed by the American songwriter Henry Clay Work, namely "My Grandfather's Clock".

In 1875 he was on a trip when he stopped at the George Hotel in Piercebridge, North Yorkshire, England, and the hotel had a floor clock that didn�t work. The American was told that the hotel used to be managed by two brothers named Jenkins and during this time the floor clock kept time very well. When one of the two brothers died, the clock started to lose time. Repair attempts were made, but they all failed. When the other brother died at the age of 90, the clocked stopped running altogether, and was never repaired in remembrance of the brothers. The new manager left the clock the way it was, with the hands pointing to the time when the last Jenkins died.

The George Hotel today........

Henry Work decided to commemorate the clock story by writing a song he titled �My Grandfather�s Clock,� changing the two brothers into Work�s grandfather. The song shared this story became very popular. Shortly after that, the long case or floor clocks, which were referred to by a variety of other names as well, came to be known as the grandfather clocks. The lyrics are at the bottom of the this page if you wish to read them.

The grandfather clocks of today rely on the same form of pendulum swing and the design is the exact same as it was over 100 years ago. It is a piece of technology that time has not yet altered.

Grandfather, Grandmother or Granddaughter Clocks

As you understand the Grandfather clock stands about six to eight feet tall. A grandfather clock is the common name used for a long case clock that stands in this height range. But how we will call a longcase clock that is five feet tall? There is a classification of the longcase clocks that classes them depending of their height, and that is why you can meet clocks named Grandmother or Granddaughter clocks.

The standard Grandmother clocks tend to have been made in the 1920�s and 30�s and vary between 5�4� and 5�9� in height. This is the height that is most popular. If a clock is very slim, spring-driven, has a dome top and square or arch brass dial, (many of the movements in this type of clock tend to play chimes) it is classed as a Grandmother clock even if sometimes it is slightly over six feet.

Any longcase clock less than five feet tall is classed as a Granddaughter clock. Generally, because most of them were made after 1930, the cases and are not normally of high quality and many of them tend to be veneered on plywood. The veneers used are normally oak, mahogany and walnut. You may sometimes see them in solid cases, but these are the exceptions rather than the rule. They were not expensive clocks when first made, and so a lot of outlay in their manufacture was prohibitive.

How they work

Each Grandfather clock has a pendulum, which is at the heart of the clock - it provides the ability to regulate and adjust the time keeping. The pendulum is attached to an anchor, and as the pendulum swings, the anchor turns a gear. The action between the anchor and the gear causes the clock to tick. In the grandfather clocks, the pendulum swings once every two seconds.

Movements

Grandfather clocks are generally offered with one of two different types movements: a mechanical cable-driven or a quartz battery-operated movement. Key-wound grandfather clocks are the patriarch of mechanical timepieces and are powered, or driven, with weights that hang on cables or with springs. What is the difference between a weight-driven and a spring-driven clock? Nothing, really. Both a weight and a spring store energy. In a spring-driven clock you wind the spring and it unwinds into the same sort of gear train found on a weight-driven clock.

The weights in a weight-driven grandfather clock power the clock from the gravitational pull of the weights slowly falling down on the cables. These weights are heavy enough to power the clock for some days, at which time they will need to be wound up again by inserting a crank into holes in the dial. In antique grandfather clocks, the weights had to be manually pulled up by pulling on chains that the weights hung from.

Indeed, the more sophisticated grandfather clocks are cable-driven. Usually there are three weights and each weight has a specific function. The middle weight powers the timekeeping function of the clock. The left weight, as you're looking at the clock, powers the hour strikes. Finally, the right weight, as you're looking at the clock, powers the chimes.

Grandfather clocks with cable-driven movements are surprisingly accurate. In fact, they have the potential to be timed to within a minute a month of the correct time. The timekeeping function is regulated, or made more accurate, with the use of a pendulum. Pendulums can be adjusted to make the clock run faster or slower by simply turning a small rating nut at the bottom of the pendulum. Turning this rating nut will cause the pendulum bob to either raise or lower. Raising the bob will cause the clock to run faster and lowering the bob will cause the clock to run slower.

Some floor clocks have battery-powered quartz movements. They usually need new batteries annually and the microchip movements might need to be replaced after a decade or more.

Please click on the links to search for Discounted / Bargain / Cheap Alarm Clocks

, Antique Clocks

, Atomic Clocks

, Carriage Clocks

, Children Clocks

, Clock Books

, Clock Parts

Cuckoo Clocks

, Floor Clocks

, Grandfather Clocks

, Kitchen Clocks

, Mantel Clocks

, Neon Clocks

, Wall Clocks

, Wooden Clocks

& Skeleton Clocks

Here are the lyrics to Henry Works song: "My grandfather's clock was too tall for the shelf, So it stood ninety years on the floor. It was taller by half than the old man himself, But it weighed not a pennyweight more. It was bought on the morn on the day that he was born. It was always his treasure and pride, But it stopped short, never to go again, When the old man died Ninety years without slumbering. Tic toc, tic toc, His life's seconds numbering. Tic toc, tic toc, It stopped short, never to go again When the old man died. In watching its pendulum swing to and fro, Many hours he had spent when a boy, And through childhood and manhood, the clock seemed to know And to share both his grief and his joy, For it struck 24 when he entered at the door With a blooming and beautiful bride, But it stopped, short, never to go again When the old man died. CHORUS - My grandfather said that of those he could hire, Not a servant so faithful he'd found, For it kept perfect time and it had one desire, At the close of each day to be wound. As it kept to its place, not a frown upon its face, At its hands never hung by its side, But it stopped, short, never to go again When the old man died. CHORUS - It rang an alarm in the still of the night, An alarm that for years had been dumb. And we knew that his spirit was pluming for flight, That his hour of departure had come. Still the clock kept the time With a soft and muffled chime, As we silently stood by his side. But it stopped, short, never to go again When the old man died."