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The Encyclopedia of Horology

Clock type · Domestic

Wall Clocks

Verified

Clocks designed to be mounted directly on a wall rather than standing or sitting on furniture, encompassing lantern, Vienna regulator, Comtoise, banjo and later factory-made forms.

Movement & mechanism

  • Weight- or spring-driven depending on type and period
  • Pendulum regulated, usually with an anchor or, in precision examples, deadbeat escapement
  • Often designed with minimal depth to sit flush against a wall

Identification

  • Wall mounting brackets or a keyhole slot on the case back
  • Case depth is typically shallow compared with longcase or mantel forms
  • Weight-driven wall clocks often use a shorter pendulum than a longcase seconds pendulum

Terminology

  • Dial clock — a large round-dial wall clock, often used publicly (see tavern clocks)
  • Drop — the length a driving weight is able to fall, limiting running duration in weight-driven wall clocks

Known variations

  • Dial (tavern) clocks
  • Vienna regulators
  • Comtoise clocks
  • Banjo clocks
  • Schoolhouse clocks

Collecting notes

This is a broad umbrella category; collectors more often specialise in one of its named sub-types (Vienna regulator, Comtoise, banjo) than in 'wall clocks' generally.

Photographs

Wall clock in the Chambord Castle
Wall clock in the Chambord Castle — Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikimedia Commons file page
Wooden wall clock with massive brass weights DSG5426-1 - 2020-04-25
Wooden wall clock with massive brass weights DSG5426-1 - 2020-04-25 — Franz van Duns, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikimedia Commons file page

Photographs are illustrative examples of the type, not necessarily the exact object described. Verify details against the source file page.

Sources & references

  1. Britten, F. J., Old Clocks and Watches and Their Makers

Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.