Longcase clock
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
c.1750
This longcase clock was made in London around 1750 by Benjamin Gray and Justin Vulliamy. The case is constructed from an oak carcase veneered in flame-figured mahogany, standing 207.8 cm high, 47.7 cm wide, and 25.5 cm deep. It features a plain triangular pedimented sliding hood with glazed rectangular side panels and a moulded square door. The trunk and hood fronts exhibit chamfered, fluted corners with wooden stringing, and the rectangular trunk door is framed with a moulded border above a rectangular base resting on a double plinth.
The clock has a 12-inch square brass dial with a matted centre, three winding apertures, and openwork urn and eagle spandrels in the corners. Pinned to the dial plate is a silvered brass chapter ring featuring Roman hour numerals and Arabic five-minute markers, alongside a subsidiary seconds dial set below XII. A silvered brass oval plaque pinned below the centre is engraved 'Benj: Gray / Just: Vulliamy / London'. The time is indicated by pierced steel hour and minute hands.
Powered by weights, the brass and steel movement has an eight-day duration, recoil escapement, and pendulum regulation. It sounds quarter chimes on eight bells and strikes the hours on a single bell via rack-and-snail striking mechanisms.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
Benjamin Gray of Pall Mall served as clock-maker to King George II. Justin Vulliamy emigrated from Switzerland to London in the early 18th century, entering into partnership with Gray around 1743 and marrying Gray's daughter. Following Gray's death, Vulliamy continued the business, and members of the Vulliamy family retained the office of clockmaker to the reigning British sovereign until 1854. A clock of closely similar design is preserved at Windsor Castle. This clock entered the collection as a bequest from the Reverend E. G. Winstanley in 1946.
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Victoria and Albert Museum collection record for this single object; how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Museum object name
- Longcase clock
- Museum object number
- W.19:2-1946
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.