History of Grandfather and Floor Clocks

by: Michael O'Brien

The counterweights, the beautiful chimes and with a characteristic swinging pendulum, the grandfather clock has a long and storied history. Grandfather clocks are known by and often referred to by other names. Sometimes called floor clocks, tall case clocks and long case clocks, the grandfather clock is the culmination of centuries of engineering discoveries. The history of these popular time keepers dates back to the fifteenth century.

Galileo's Pendulum

The pendulum movement is the heart of the grandfather clock. We have a very famous scientist to thank for developing the theory of pendulum movement. The Italian physicist Galileo Galilei was a highly controversial figure in his day having postulated that the earth revolved around the sun. After having invented the telescope and studying the movement of the planets, Galileo was convinced, rightly so, that the Earth revolved around the sun.

Among his other contributions to physics was the movement of pendulums in response to the rotation of the Earth. While studying the movement of pendulums, Galileo calculated that a pendulum could accurately control and power the movement of mechanical clocks. Mechanical clocks were not new to Galileo and various designs had existed in fifteen eighty two. Mechanical clocks had been in use since the mid thirteenth century. Limitations in technology meant that these early clocks were inaccurate but still represented a giant leap forward.

Huygens Swings the Pendulum

Galileo calculated that a mainspring clock movement could be more accurately controlled when it was combined a swinging pendulum movement. It would take another seventy years for this discovery to be fully understood. Thankfully, the pendulum would find its way into the design of clock movements. The Dutch scientist Christian Huygens was the first to take the concept of a swinging pendulum and incorporate it into a working clock. An accomplished mathematician, Huygens is credited with adding a level of precision to timekeeping unheard of at the time. The accuracy of existing balance clocks could vary widely and the addition of a pendulum movement significantly improved the accuracy to within two or three minutes a day. European clockmakers were quick make the pendulum movement a standard part of clock design.

A pendulum and an opposing set of counterweights was the heart of the new design. The opposing counterweights, in combination with a mainspring, kept the pendulum swinging at a constant rate. Clockmakers soon discovered that accuracy could be improved further by increasing the length of the pendulum. English clockmakers George Graham and William Clement are widely credited with the development of what would be known as a tall clock. Before long, clockmakers, working with cabinets makers began to enclose pendulum clocks in wooded cabinets. Long before the term grandfather clock was adopted pendulum clocks were interchangeably referred to as tall case or long case clocks.

Credited by many to a man named Henry Work, a simple song called My Grandfathers Clock is said to be the genesis of the term grandfather clock. The song, written in eighteen seventy five, is said to be based the story of a broken hotel floor clock. In much the same way art and music can influence the cultural lexicon, floor clocks, tall and long case clocks gradually became known as grandfather clocks.

Grandmother and Granddaughter Clocks

Variations of the grandfather clock began to emerge including what became known as the grandmother clock. A grandmother clock is a smaller version of a grandfather clock. Not only is a grandmother clock not as tall but the dial face is smaller, normally only eight inches in diameter. In contrast, a grandfather or tall case clock can stand over seven feet tall and has a dial face can be more than ten inches in diameter.

Grandmother clocks produced in the early nineteen hundreds were typically no taller than six feet, though no real standard exists. Even shorter then a grandmother clock another type of floor clock came to be known as a granddaughter clock. Much shorter than the taller grandfather clock, granddaughter clocks began to appear in the nineteen thirties. Most vintage granddaughter clocks measure just over five feet in height. As with the grandmother clock, the dial face is also smaller.

Over the years, floors clocks of all kinds have continued grow in popularity and the grandfather clock remains by far the most well known. Even though new designs and styles have been introduced, traditional grandfather clock designs have are still the most sought after clocks. Some contemporary grandfather clock models feature digital movements, replacing the standard, spring driven designs. Whether powered by the spring and pendulum or electric movements, the grandfather clock is still a classic.

About the Author

Michael O'Brien is Staff Writer for Grandfather Clock Sale.com