We think these are amongst the most exciting and individual of English wall clocks and of huge historic and decorative appeal. For years they were mistakenly called ‘Act of Parliament’ Clocks because Pitt the Younger introduced a tax in 1797 by an Act of Parliament whereby: “For and upon every clock or timekeeper by whatever name the same shall be called…shall be charged an annual duty of Five Shillings.” It has been suggested that the effect of this tax caused large clocks to be put up in taverns and inns for the benefit of an impecunious public unable to afford pocket watches or clocks of their own.

In fact, the tax so badly damaged the clockmakers’ trade that in the face of intense lobbying from Clerkenwell (then London’s centre of clockmaking) the Act was repealed the following year.

Far from being made only during the year of Pitt the Younger’s tax, the design of tavern clocks – typified by a large mural style, with clearly legible dial and bold hands – had been produced from about 1720 for at least 100 years. It was an ideal design for coaching inns and posting houses that prided themselves on keeping strict schedules for the coaches that brought them their most important business. The clock’s weight-driven movement with long pendulum (which is cased to house and protect it from bumps and knocks, hence the clock’s shape) kept good time and could be clearly seen by all. It is still occasionally possible to see these clocks in old coaching inns, well-known examples being the Tavern clock in the George Inn in Southwark and the one at Angel Inn in Guildford.