Clock type · Domestic
Tavern (Act of Parliament) Clocks
Partially verifiedLarge wall-mounted dial clocks with a very short or absent trunk, hung in British inns and public rooms from the mid-eighteenth century; the story that they arose from the 1797 clock tax is a later tradition now treated as incorrect.
Construction and interpretation
The consulted source is direct about the name: large plain wall clocks with dials of roughly two to five feet were hung in British inns and taverns from the mid-eighteenth century, and the "Act of Parliament" label came long afterwards. In 1797 William Pitt’s government introduced a tax of five shillings on clocks; it was deeply unpopular with clockmakers and was repealed after nine months. The story that innkeepers installed big public clocks so travellers could abandon taxed personal watches is described as widely repeated but incorrect.
This correction matters for dating. A large black-and-gilt dial clock is not automatically a product of 1797–98, and the nine-month tax window is far too short to explain a whole category. Describe the type by what can be seen: a large, legible dial, a short or absent trunk, and a movement mounted directly behind the dial. The traditional name can be retained as a label while the record states plainly that the causal tax story is a later tradition.
| Feature | What it means | Evidence to seek |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-eighteenth-century origin | Inn and tavern clocks predate the tax | Documented examples before 1797 |
| 1797 clock tax | Five shillings, repealed within nine months | The historical Act, not the legend |
| Act of Parliament name | A later label applied to the type | Period usage versus later trade tradition |
| Large plain dial | Legibility across a public room | Dial diameter and decoration as observed |
Do not date a tavern clock to 1797–98 on the strength of its name; the tax explanation is a later tradition, not documented origin evidence.
Evidence to record
- Date the movement and dial independently of the tax story.
- Record the dial diameter and mounting arrangement.
- Retain the traditional name with its qualification, not as fact.
Movement & mechanism
- Weight- or spring-driven movement mounted directly behind a large dial, without the long trunk of a longcase clock
- Anchor escapement typical of the period
- Dial often black with gilt numerals and decoration for maximum legibility across a room
- Weight-driven eight-day timepiece trains, frequently without striking
- Anchor escapement with a seconds or slightly shorter pendulum
- Very large painted or black-lacquered dials reading clearly at a distance
Identification
- Large dial (commonly 24–30 inches) mounted on a short trunk or wall bracket rather than a full longcase
- Black-and-gilt or similarly high-contrast dial decoration for distance legibility
- Dial diameter far larger than a domestic wall clock, often without glass
- Trunk short relative to a longcase, sized for wall hanging
- Frequently timepiece only, with no striking train
Terminology
- Act of Parliament clock — the traditional name referring to the 1797 duty on clocks and watches, repealed the following year
- Wagon-spring or pendulum wall dial — related large-dial wall clock terms sometimes used interchangeably
- Tavern clock
- Coaching-inn clock
- Timepiece (a clock without striking)
Known variations
- Coaching-inn dial clocks
- Black-dial gilt tavern clocks
- Painted-dial tavern clocks
- Japanned and painted trunk decoration
- Shield and round dial forms
Collecting notes
The direct causal link between the 1797 tax and this clock type is a long-repeated trade tradition rather than a fully documented certainty in every case; some large dial clocks of this style predate or postdate the tax period. Collectors should treat the 'Act of Parliament' name as a traditional label rather than a strict dating guarantee.
Photographs
Photographs are illustrative examples of the type, not necessarily the exact object described. Verify details against the source file page.
Sources & references
- Britten, F. J., Old Clocks and Watches and Their Makers
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_Parliament_clock
- The strength of the causal link between the 1797 tax and the type's naming/origin is disputed among horological historians and is flagged here rather than asserted.
- Loomes, B., reference works on British clockmakers (edition-dependent)
- Museum catalogue descriptions of comparable examples
Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.