Clocks · Longcase clock
Walnut longcase clock by Charles Gretton, London, c. 1695
- Maker / attribution
- Charles Gretton (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 6 ft 11 in (211 cm)
- Stock no.
- Product 68
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, P A Oxley (product 68)
- Catalogue title (original)
- 17th century Walnut longcase clock by Charles Gretton of London (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by P A Oxley (dealer), Wiltshire (stock number Product 68), this is a longcase clock by Charles Gretton, 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 6 ft 11 in (211 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 — P A Oxley
A fine 17th century walnut longcase clock by this eminent maker, made during the ‘Golden Age’ period of Clockmaking. The 8 day duration movement with five latched finned pillars, recoil anchor escapement and the hourly strike is enabled via an inside countwheel striking mechanism. Both the latched pillars and countwheel striking were features of this period of Clockmaking and were used by only the finest makers. The 11" square brass dial features a silvered brass chapter ring and seconds ring. The matted centre has ringed winding holes and a matching ringed date aperture. The date aperture surrounded with circular designs. Also with typically used spandrels of the period and engraved tulips to the main dial plate in between each spandrel. Signed Charles Gretton, London on the chapter ring. The veneered walnut case is of exceptional quality with herringbone inlay to the front and sides and with bookmatched walnut veneer to both the trunk and base. Also featuring extensive crossbanded veneers and mouldings throughout the cabinetwork. This style was extensively used on all forms of furniture at this stage of the 17th century. The flat top hood is framed with brass Doric capitals to the walnut veneered pillars. Also with quarter pillars to the rear and glazed viewing windows to each side. A superb opportunity to purchase a rare longcase clock from this early period. Note: Charles Gretton was born C.1649. He was apprenticed to Humfrey Downing in June 1672 and gained his Freedom of the Clockmakers` Company in 1672. Gretton was first thought to have worked from The Ship in Fleet Street until around 1685 where he is recorded `in Fleet Street over against Sergeants Inn Gate`. He was made Assistant of the Clockmakers` Company in 1689, Warden in 1697 and Master in 1700. He took on many apprentices throughout his prolific Clockmaking life. Maker Charles Gretton of 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:Deadbeat escapementAnchor escapement
Related records
Pocket Watches · 1702
Pocket watch by Charles Gretton, England, 1702
Science Museum Group, London
Clocks · c. 1680
Clock by Charles Gretton, England, c. 1680
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Clocks · c. 1700
Bracket clock by Charles Gretton, England, c. 1700
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Pocket Watches · 1672–1675
Silver and Tortoise-shell Pair-Cased Verge Watch with Chatelaine, Two Silver Seal Matrices and winding key
British Museum
Clocks · 1598–1603
Circular table-clock with calendrical and lunar indications made by Nicholas Vallin in London between 1598 and 1603.
Science Museum Group, London
Clocks · 1611
English iron lantern clock, with wheel balance, by John Holloway, Market Lavington, Wiltshire, England, 1611.
Science Museum Group, London
Clocks · 1630
Lantern clock by Francis Forman, England, 1630
Science Museum Group, London
Clocks · 1632–1640
Turret clock, England, 1632–1640
Science Museum Group, London