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The Encyclopedia of Horology

Clock escapement

Recoil (anchor) escapement

Verified

An anchor-shaped pallet engages the escape wheel so that, at each half-vibration, the wheel is briefly driven backwards ('recoils') before locking again, which allows the pendulum to swing through a wide arc while remaining connected to the train.

Schematic arrangement

How it is laid out

Anchor pallets, recoilPendulum

Outline schematic only, drawn to show the characteristic arrangement of wheel, locking member and oscillator. It is not a dimensioned working drawing and should not be used for setting up or repairing a movement.

Advantages

  • Simple and inexpensive to make
  • Tolerant of a wide pendulum arc
  • Long service life in domestic clocks

Drawbacks

  • Recoil disturbs the pendulum's free swing
  • Less accurate than a deadbeat escapement

Attribution and period

c. 1670s, generally attributed to Robert Hooke and associated with William Clement's clocks

Horological firsts are frequently contested. Where an invention is attributed to a named maker, that attribution is recorded as such rather than treated as settled fact.

Photographs

Anchor escapement
Anchor escapement — George Henry Abbott Hazlitt, Public domain. Wikimedia Commons file page
1675 anchor recoil escapement, G. Clement, London - Franklin Institute - DSC06665
1675 anchor recoil escapement, G. Clement, London - Franklin Institute - DSC06665 — Daderot, Public domain. Wikimedia Commons file page
Anchor escapement animation 315x478px
Anchor escapement animation 315x478px — Chetvorno, CC0. Wikimedia Commons file page

Photographs are matched automatically from freely licensed Wikimedia Commons material. Each caption states the actual subject of the image and credits its author; where a close match for this escapement does not exist, a related mechanism may be shown instead.