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Longcase clock by Joseph Windmills, London, c. 1695 — view 1 of 5
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Clocks · Longcase clock

Longcase clock by Joseph Windmills, London, c. 1695

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Joseph Windmills (maker)
Date
c. 1695
Historical period
Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
Country of origin
England
Place
London
Object type
Longcase clock
Materials / technique
walnut
Dimensions
Height 221 cm
Dealer
Howard Walwyn Fine Antique Clocks (dealer), London
Stock no.
SKU 68
Credit line
Dealer listing, Howard Walwyn (SKU 68)
Catalogue title (original)
JOSEPH WINDMILLS. A RARE DOCUMENTED WILLIAM III PERIOD 8-DAY WALNUT LONGCASE CLOCK (English)

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Record summary

Catalogued by Howard Walwyn Fine Antique Clocks (dealer), London (stock number SKU 68), this is a longcase clock by Joseph Windmills, made in London, England, dated c. 1695. The Atlas places it in the Early Modern Horology period (1600 – 1750) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: walnut. Recorded dimensions: Height 221 cm. The record is illustrated with 5 photographs.

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

Dealer description — Howard Walwyn

A rare documented William III period 8-day walnut longcase clock by this famous London clockmaker. The oak case is veneered with fine quality figured walnut veneers and there is a gilt wood lenticle to the trunk door. The sides of the trunk are panelled with book matched veneers and are fully crossbanded. The walnut veneered hood is flanked by walnut columns with gilt wooden capitals and bases and there is a delicate sound fret below the cross grain walnut cornice moulding. The 11 inch square brass dial is mounted with cherub and foliate spandrels, silvered chapter ring and a subsidiary seconds ring below XII. The centre is finely matted with ringed winding holes and there is an aperture to view the date. The maker’s signature is engraved between VII and V on the chapter ring and the well pierced and blued steel hands may well be original. The top quality 8 Day duration movement has five pillars and the hours are sounded on a bell via an inside countwheel. Height with cresting: 87 in (221 cm) Height without cresting: 80 ¾ in (205 cm) * Joseph Windmills was made a Free Brother in the Clockmakers’ Company in September 1671. He was a prolific maker with large workshops and numerous apprentices after 1687 in Tower Street. He was appointed Warden of the Clockmakers’ Company in 1699 and became Master in 1702. By 1714 he had gone into partnership with his son Thomas. Late 17th century walnut clocks of this intrinsic quality and aesthetic appeal by famous makers are increasingly rare and hard to find. There are clocks by Joseph and his son Thomas Windmills in many important public collections around the world. • This fine clock is illustrated as plate VIII in J.A. Neale’s book “Joseph and Thomas Windmills”. The clock is also illustrated in an article by Arthur Oswald in Country Life September 5th 1963 when it was at Papplewick Hall, Nottinghamshire. Further reading: (1) ‘Joseph and Thomas Windmills’ by J. A. Neale. The Antiquarian Horological Society 1999. (2) ‘The Early Clockmakers of Great Britain’ by Brian Loomes. N.A.G. Press 1981 (Page 585). Signed / Inscribed J Windmills London

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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