Clocks · Longcase clock
Longcase clock by Richard Lyons, London, c. 1680–1685
- Maker / attribution
- Richard Lyons (maker)
- Date
- c. 1680–1685
- Historical period
- Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
- Country of origin
- England
- Place
- London
- Object type
- Longcase clock
- Materials / technique
- walnut
- Dimensions
- Height 208.2 cm
- Stock no.
- SKU 382
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Howard Walwyn (SKU 382)
- Catalogue title (original)
- RICHARD LYONS. An exceptional Charles II period walnut longcase clock by this maker. (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Howard Walwyn Fine Antique Clocks (dealer), London (stock number SKU 382), this is a longcase clock by Richard Lyons, made in London, England, dated c. 1680–1685. 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 208.2 cm. The record is illustrated with 6 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
An exceptional Charles II period walnut longcase clock by this maker. The finned five pillar movement which strikes the hours on a single bell has bolt and shutter maintaining power and has the characteristic early countwheel on the outside of the backplate. It is of 8 Day duration. The superb 10 inch square brass dial is signed on the dial plate below VI Richard Lyons Londini . It has four winged cherub’s head corner spandrels, inset datework above VI, pierced and faceted steel hands and finely engraved narrow chapter and seconds rings. The slender proportioned early case has beautiful matching figured walnut veneers and original untouched patination. The hood with its swan necked cresting has attached barley twist pillars to the front and rear. It is now pull forward having been a rising hood. Height: 82 in (208.2 cm) Width : 16 ¾ in (42.5 cm) Depth : 9 ½ in (24 cm) *Richard Lyons was born in London in 1635 and began as an apprentice clock maker at the age of 14. In 1656, now 21, Lyons completed his apprenticeship and was married in the same year. From this point onwards, he took on a number of apprentices, notably Nathaniel Delander and Thomas Herbert. He was appointed Master of the Clockmakers’ Company aged 48. An interesting notice marked July 24, 1684, read: ‘ Horse stolen or strayed- if notice given to William Hambleton or to Mr. Richard Lions, Clock-maker near Doctors-Commons, London, shall have 40s. reward .’ His watches and longcase clocks are signed ‘ Richard Lyons, London .’ Reference: Dawson, Drover & Parkes, Early English Clocks B. Loomes , Clockmakers of Britain : 1286-1700, p.329-330 Hw6060
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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