Tuesday 21 December 2021

Ye Olde Longcase Clocke


I don't OWN this clock; I'm simply a custodian.

When I was 'given' it, by my Aunt in London, I was told in no uncertain terms that it wasn't mine to do with as I please, but it would simply be in my possession before passing it on to the next generation; who would need to be told the same thing. A small Oak corner cupboard came with the same instructions.

And the reason for all this? Well, the clock was made for my family, and has been passed down ever since. I've only had it 'serviced' once, and was told that the mechanism is dated 1735.


The dial is marked 'Debnam Newport'. This is one 'Charles Debnam' of Newport, Saffron Walden, which is near where my ancestors farmed. They owned a small amount of land including a part of Wicken Fen; which later became the first property owned by The National Trust.

It's not a fancy Longcase clock, in fact it's very simple and rustic. It doesn't keep very good time, as much as I try to correct it. I have to wind it every morning, and I often wonder how they regulated the time in the 'old days'. I suppose if someone came to the house with a pocket watch, it could be regulated, otherwise they would have lived by whatever inaccurate time it told. Maybe they set it to the village Church clock or bells.

I love sitting in the quiet of my sitting room with just the ticking of the clock for company. That tick has accompanied many generations of my family, and I hope it will continue for generations to come. I have turned off the chime, as it's not particularly pleasant. With a sprig of Holly and some tinsel on top it has a remarkably seasonal feel about it.

Longcase clocks are out of favour at the moment. A clock such as this can be bought for a mere £200 these days; some 40 years ago you could have added another zero. 

37 comments:

  1. I don't think time mattered that much as until the mid 19th century England didn't have a standard time. The rail companies needed it but having introduced it they promptly ignored it.
    Greenwich had GMT but only once a day when that ball fell.

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    1. "The rail companies needed it but having introduced it they promptly ignored it."

      Thanks for the laugh, Adrian. The laughter of recognition. To say that - when I first arrived on these shore - I was scandalized by British trains' time keeping doesn't quite cover their dismal performance. However, because I like to give everyone and everything the BENEFIT of the doubt (such a wonderful English concept) in the end I decided it was me, not them. Trains in England and I don't go together. Sort of mismatch. I once told some fellow passengers to best find another train as, since I was on it, the journey will go wrong. Three hours later stuck in the wilderness ... they wished they'd taken my advice.

      U

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    2. I don't wear a watch, I haven't for decades. In France I took my time from the church bells that rang the hour and half-hour. I don't think I missed anything.

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  2. Modern homes have no space for long case clocks, most don't even have a mantle over a fireplace for a mantle clock. Nor even a fireplace although heaters that look like flaming fires are becoming popular. I would think most people would have set their clocks by the church clock until such times as Town Halls were built and had a Town Hall clock to keep time with.

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    1. We now have the time displayed on the oven, the laptop, the TV, the clock (above), and a small alarm clock. The only one I look at is on my laptop.

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  3. That clock sure is imposing, nay majestic, indeed threateningly in your face. It also assumes you do have the space [to ignore it].

    Complicated concept to be beholden to family passing on an item from generation to generation. To put it another way: The dead won't know should you make use of that extra Zero in Pound Sterling, on the market, in times to come. Retro is what retro does. Comes around.

    U

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    1. It's a nice clock. I like it because it's simple and unassuming. A good country clock.

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  4. My grandfather's clock (not a grandfather clock) is currently at the menders. It has a family story attached to it and has been present all my life. It's sad to realise it means nothing to my children.

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    1. It may do in time. Everyone, eventually, wants a link with their past.

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  5. I like your clock ….. the face is really pretty ….. what stories it could tell !!! We have an old wall clock with pendulum that I bought in Harvey Nichols antique department when I was in my early 20’s ….. it cost me £25 ! I love Saffron Walden and visit now and again as it’s not too far away from me. XXXX

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    1. They actually farmed in Wicken, which I believe is just outside SW. I believe the 'Fen' was used to cut Reed for thatching.

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    2. I've just had a look at a map, and see that Wicken is quite a way north of Saffron. Much nearer to Ely!

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  6. It's a lovely simple clock.
    Having a tic toc in the background is relaxing. My father rescued a wall clock from the school he taught at when the head was going to put it in the rubbish skip. Now at least 116 years old, the works cleaned and one bush replaced, it ticks quietly in the background with a weekly wind.

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    1. It's true, that old-fashioned tick-tock is very relaxing... I can hear mine now!

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  7. Antiques are so out of fashion at the moment. Our mantel clock, a wedding gift to my maternal grandparents has to wound every ten days. I try to remember to wind it each Sunday but I often forget. I let the gong wind down. Too noisy. And for ungrateful house guests, even the tick was too loud. The clock is a nice functional piece of small furniture but nothing grand.

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    1. Antique 'Brown Furniture' is almost being given away. If I owned a big Georgian house with nice big rooms, I'd spend my days in salerooms buying-up all that beautiful furniture that people no longer want. They prefer to pay crazy prices for poor quality stuff from Ikea that they'd be lucky if it lasts 10 years.

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    2. Our clock has stopped again. I have failed with my clock winding duty. What many people don't think about is how you can successfully mix modern with antique.

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  8. What a treasure that clock is! To think of your ancestors listening to its ticking throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It really is a time machine in more ways than one.

    I once took a photograph of the old windmill on Wicken Fen.

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    1. It is a nice clock, but it's also a bit of a burden. I just hope that my son Kimbo will look after it when his time comes.

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  9. You might be able to adjust the timekeeping by altering rate of the pendulum swing. Can the length of the pendulum be adjusted: longer=slower, shorter=faster (I think)? Also, taping coins to its back may slow the rate very slightly too.

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    1. I've tried adjusting the pendulum; there's a nut that tightens. Unfortunately it takes a whole day to see if any change has been made, so the whole process is very long.

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  10. I love a quiet room and a ticking clock. Add a crackling fire and a good book, and life is quite nearly perfect.

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    1. My wife keeps saying that we should take it to France. It would be perfect there, but would also complicate matters.

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  11. I love your old clock. The fact it keeps poor time adds to its charm. As a child, I was absolutely fascinated by cuckoo clocks. I hankered for one for years. Then my friend and neighbour brought one back from her travels to Germany. Whenever I visit, I wonder how she sleeps at night. Every hour that little cuckoo puts on quite the performance.

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    1. I had a friend who totally destroyed his Cuckoo Clock with a sabre, during a rather 'well-oiled' Christmas party. He said he'd been wanting to do it for years!

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  12. We have a grandfather clock and love it. Bought it with one of DH's first bonus checks years ago. My oldest son has dibs on it. And we loved the sound of the musical chimes (the old 'ding dong, dong ding, hear the chimes ring... etc.) and we always knew the time - day or night. I would cherish yours (and I think you do) for it's memories of another time.

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    1. The chimes on ours is rather dull and leaden-sounding. It just rings the hours; no fancy tunes. I turned it off.

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  13. We have a clock like yours, it's a regulator clock built by my husband's great grandfather who was a clockmaker in Wiltshire. It has our family name on the face. Every time I wind it I think of his great granny doing the same thing, standing on tiptoes to reach up to the winding hole in the face and her fingers holding onto the side like mine as she did so.

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    1. Ours is wound by raising the weight by the pendulum (weights and chains)... much easier access, but a bit primitive.

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  14. Your clock is beautiful. I also love clocks and have a collection that belonged to my ancestors. The ticking and chiming of clocks is a very nice constant. In my experience, you either like it or dislike it.

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  15. It’s a plain version of mine, very elegant too

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    1. The case is very simple pine, probably made by whoever made coffins. It amazing that everything is still original; even the glass.

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  16. I would loveahouse full of antiques but can only afford to live in poky small flats painted white with space for minimal furniture.

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    1. I'm very much an antiques person, but as you say, one really needs a bigger house.

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  17. I certainly think your clock is beautiful. As for keeping time, well, an approximation is all we need really!

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