Clocks · Wall clock
Wall clock by Francis Perigal, London, c. 1780
- Maker / attribution
- Francis Perigal (maker)
- Date
- c. 1780
- Historical period
- Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
- Country of origin
- England
- Place
- London
- Object type
- Wall clock
- Dimensions
- Height 67 cm
- Stock no.
- SKU 168
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Howard Walwyn (SKU 168)
- Catalogue title (original)
- FRANCIS PERIGAL. A FINE GEORGE III PERIOD HOODED WALL CLOCK BY THIS EMINENT MAKER. (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Howard Walwyn Fine Antique Clocks (dealer), London (stock number SKU 168), this is a wall clock by Francis Perigal, made in London, England, dated c. 1780. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Recorded dimensions: Height 67 cm. The record is illustrated with 2 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 fine George III period hooded wall clock by this eminent maker. The mahogany case has a shallow arched moulded cornice with a pierced fretwork frieze, flanked by stop fluted canted corners and glazed sides. The original moulded under-curved bracket incorporates a key drawer and provides access to the pendulum bob for regulation. The 10-inch two piece silvered brass shallow arch dial with Roman numerals and well pierced hands has an aperture above VI to view the day of the month. There is a strike/silent option above XII and the dial is signed by the maker Francis Perigal, London in the ogee arch. The two-train bell striking spring-driven double fusee movement with five knopped pillars has an anchor escapement and a brass rod pendulum. Height: 26 ¼ in (67 cm) Width: 15 ¾ in (40 cm) Depth: 8 ½ in (20 cm) * The Perigals were an eminent family of clockmakers spanning most of the 18th century. This distinctive clock, which is identical in design to those made by John Ellicott, was made by Francis Perigal who was working at the Royal Exchange until 1805. Literature: B. Loomes, Clockmakers of the World: 21st Century Edition, p.606 HW5829 Signed / Inscribed Francis Perigal LONDON
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
Regulators, wall and Vienna clocks
A regulator is a precision pendulum clock used as a time standard in observatories, workshops and railway offices. Typical features are a deadbeat or Graham escapement, a temperature-compensated pendulum (mercury jar, gridiron or later invar), maintaining power and a regulator dial that separates hours, minutes and seconds. George Graham's deadbeat escapement (c. 1715) and his mercury pendulum, together with Harrison's gridiron, set the pattern for two centuries.
Wall clocks span a much wider range: the elegant Viennese Laterndluhr and Dachluhr of the Biedermeier period, the Dutch stoelklok and staartklok, English 'dial' clocks used in schools, offices and railway stations, and mass-produced spring and weight wall clocks from Germany (Gustav Becker, Junghans, Kienzle) and America.
What to look for
- Deadbeat escapement and compensated pendulum (gridiron rods, mercury jar or wood rod).
- A regulator dial with a large central minute hand and separate hour and seconds dials.
- Vienna regulators: glazed cases, slender pendulum, small weights, enamel two-piece dials.
- German factory trademarks stamped on the backplate (e.g. Gustav Becker anchor and crown, Junghans star).
Dating clues
- Graham-type deadbeat regulators: from c. 1720.
- Viennese Laterndluhr: c. 1800–1850.
- German factory 'Vienna-style' regulators: c. 1870–1930; Gustav Becker serial numbers allow close dating.
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.
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