Clocks · Longcase clock
Longcase clock by Yates Thornton, Romford, Essex, c. 1750–1760
- Maker / attribution
- Yates Thornton (maker)
- Date
- c. 1750–1760
- Historical period
- Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Place
- Romford, Essex
- Object type
- Longcase clock
- Dimensions
- Height 228.5 cm
- Stock no.
- SKU 297
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Howard Walwyn (SKU 297)
- Catalogue title (original)
- YATES THORNTON, ROMFORD An early George III period chinoiserie decorated longcase clock. (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Howard Walwyn Fine Antique Clocks (dealer), London (stock number SKU 297), this is a longcase clock by Yates Thornton, made in Romford, Essex, dated c. 1750–1760. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Recorded dimensions: Height 228.5 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 mid-18 th century period longcase clock by one of the most eminent Essex clockmakers. The pagoda top case is constructed primarily of oak and decorated with gilt chinoiserie decoration on a bottle green background. There are stylised figures set within an oriental village setting. The sides are decorated with chrysanthemums and foliage. The 12 inch arch brass dial is mounted with a silvered chapter ring, inset seconds ring and urn and dolphin spandrels. The centre is finely matted and has an aperture to view the day of the month above VI. The dial is signed on a silvered brass plaque ‘ Yates Thornton, Romford’ within the matted centre and there is a strike/silent dial within the arch. The high-quality, 8-day duration five pillar movement has hour strike via an internal rack. The clock is complete with its original brass weights and pendulum bob. Date: circa 1750 – 1760 Height : 90 in (228.5 cm) Width : 20 ¼ in (51.5 cm) Depth : 9 ⅝ in (24.5 cm) * Yates Thornton is listed on page 770 of Brian Loomes’ Clockmakers of the World: 21 st Century Edition . He was working in Romford, Essex in the mid-18 th century.
Historical context
Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
Harrison solves longitude; Mudge invents the lever; Breguet's Paris workshop defines the modern watch.
The age of the deadbeat escapement, compensated pendulums and observatory regulators. Domestic clocks spread through the middle classes: English longcase and bracket clocks, French gilt-bronze mantel clocks, Viennese Biedermeier wall clocks, Black Forest painted-shield clocks, and the first American shelf clocks.
Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Early Modern 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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