Clocks · Longcase clock
Longcase clock by Francis Stamper, England, c. 1700
- Maker / attribution
- Francis Stamper (made)
- Date
- c. 1700
- Historical period
- Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
- Country of origin
- England
- Place
- England
- Object type
- Longcase clock
- Materials / technique
- Walnut veneer with narrow stringing of light coloured wood.
- Dimensions
- Height: 193 cm; Width: 34.3 cm; Depth: 22.9 cm; Weight: 4.55 kg (w.55:4 Lead weight 10/10/2025 NH); Weight: 4.1 kg (w.55:5 Lead weight 10/10/2025 NH)
- Holding institution
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- Accession / object no.
- W.55:1 to 7-1948
- Credit line
- Bequeathed by Mrs Emily Graham Mander in the name of her late husband, Ernest Henry Mander
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Record summary
Held and catalogued by Victoria and Albert Museum, London (object number W.55:1 to 7-1948), this is a longcase clock by Francis Stamper, made in England, dated c. 1700. The Atlas places it in the Early Modern Horology period (1600 – 1750) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: Walnut veneer with narrow stringing of light coloured wood. Recorded dimensions: Height: 193 cm; Width: 34.3 cm; Depth: 22.9 cm; Weight: 4.55 kg (w.55:4 Lead weight 10/10/2025 NH); Weight: 4.1 kg (w.55:5 Lead weight 10/10/2025 NH). The record is illustrated with 1 photograph.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Summary — Victoria and Albert Museum
"Fran Stamper at ye Golden Ball in Lombard Street" became a member of the Clockmakers Company 1682. "In 1687 he was ordered by the Company to be prosecuted for refusing to admit to his workroom master and wardens when they were upon a search, but he submitted himself to the court and was fined 20s". On loan to Handel House Museum, London
Physical description — Victoria and Albert Museum
Long case clock, walnut veneer with narrow stringing of light coloured wood. (For further information see Clocks Catalogue). The hood framed between twist-turned columns with plain moulded base and entablature. The dial of gilt brass with the hour circle engraved on a silver ring. Within the ring a seconds circle above and a date aperture below, surrounded by a semi-circular silvered band inscribed (see list of inscriptions). In each of the spandrels a child's head between outspread wings surrounded by floral scrolls, all of gilded brass in relief. The pendulum case and base of narrow rectangular form decorated with simple stringing pattern.
Brief description — Victoria and Albert Museum
LONG CASE CLOCK Walnut veneer Made by Fran Stamper, London, about 1700
Inscriptions & marks
Fran Stamper at ye Golden Ball in Lumbard Street.
Provenance
This clock is on loan to Handel House Museum, London, since 2001 [1995/327]. Long case clock bequeathed to the V & A September 1948 by Mrs Emily Graham Mander in the name of her late husband, Ernest Henry Mander Notes from R.P. 2196 (not 2198 as in catalogue) 7 September 1948 minute paper, W A Thorpe Report of inspection. Bears the mark "Fran:Stamper at ye Golden Ball in Lombard Street". Thorpe finds it similar in proportion to the Jones clock (W.22-1946). Though the quality is not abundantly high, we have nothing like it, and no clock by this praised maker. CCC 1682-1700 9 May 1985 letter, Gullick to V & A requests any information available regarding the life of E H Mander. Gullick is engaged in historical research and notes only that "at the time of his death in 1914 E H Mander was aged 49 and he was a stockbroker and member of The Stock Exchange". (V & A response - no info. on files).
Historical context
Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
Huygens' pendulum and balance spring transform accuracy; English makers develop the anchor and deadbeat escapements.
Huygens's pendulum (1656–57) improved clock accuracy from about a quarter of an hour to under a minute a day. The anchor escapement (c. 1670) and the long seconds pendulum created the longcase clock; London makers such as Fromanteel, Knibb, Tompion and Quare led European clockmaking, and French makers created the Boulle pendule.
Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Renaissance Horology
Atlas type guide
Longcase (tall-case or grandfather) clocks
The longcase clock was born from two seventeenth-century innovations: Christiaan Huygens's pendulum (1656–57) and the anchor escapement (c. 1670). A long seconds pendulum, nearly a metre long, swings with a small arc, and enclosing it together with the driving weights in a tall wooden case protected the mechanism and created a new piece of furniture. London makers such as Ahasuerus Fromanteel, Thomas Tompion and Joseph Knibb set the pattern.
By the eighteenth century longcase clocks were made throughout Britain, the Netherlands, Scandinavia (the Swedish Mora clock), France (the Comtoise from the Franche-Comté), Germany and colonial America. Eight-day movements with two weights became standard in better clocks; thirty-hour clocks with one weight and a rope or chain were cheaper alternatives.
What to look for
- Winding holes in the dial: two (eight-day, going and striking) or none (thirty-hour, pulled up by a chain).
- Brass dials with applied chapter rings (earlier) versus painted iron 'white' dials (after c. 1770 in Britain).
- Moon-phase arches, date apertures, seconds dials and maker's name on the dial.
- Case woods and style: ebonised, walnut marquetry, lacquer, oak or mahogany; regional styles from London, Lancashire, Scotland or America.
- Whether the movement and dial match the case — 'marriages' are common.
Dating clues
- Square brass dials suggest c. 1670–1720; arched brass dials c. 1715–1790.
- Painted (white) dials were made by Birmingham dial-makers from about 1772.
- Comtoise clocks with repoussé pendulums are mostly nineteenth century.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
Read next:Anchor (recoil) escapementDeadbeat escapementAnchor escapement
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