Clocks · Longcase clock
Oak longcase clock by Richard Alexander, Devizes
- Maker / attribution
- Richard Alexander (maker)
- Date
- c. 1785
- Historical period
- Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
- Country of origin
- England
- Place
- Devizes
- Object type
- Longcase clock
- Materials / technique
- oak
- Dimensions
- Height 197 cm
- Stock no.
- Product 3401
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, The Antique Clock Company (product 3401)
- Catalogue title (original)
- CHARMING OAK LONGCASE CLOCK – RICHARD ALEXANDER – DEVIZES (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by The Antique Clock Company (dealer), Dorset (stock number Product 3401), this is a longcase clock by Richard Alexander, made in Devizes, England, dated c. 1785. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: oak. Recorded dimensions: Height 197 cm. The record is illustrated with 3 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 — The Antique Clock Company
Introduce timeless charm to your home with this delightful cottage-style longcase clock, crafted by Richard Alexander of Devizes, Wiltshire, circa 1785. This beautifully proportioned clock features a plain oak case with an elegant flat-top caddy, a long trunk door, and attached pillars framing the hood door, embodying simplicity and sophistication. The 12-inch square painted dial is adorned with charming strawberry and floral corner motifs, a subsidiary seconds dial, and a distinctive ‘mouth’-style calendar aperture, all complemented by the original blued steel hands. Housed within is an 8-day, weight-driven movement, expertly designed to rack strike the hours on a clear, resonant bell, ensuring both functionality and authenticity. This enchanting clock combines refined aesthetics with excellent craftsmanship, making it a perfect addition to any collection or a statement piece for a cosy interior. Height: 77½” or 197 cm
Provenance
Private collection, UK
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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