Keeping Time: Clocks in the Royal Collection
Extraordinary timepieces in the Royal Collection, 1630-1830
Longcase equation clock
c.1703RCIN 2754
According to an anonymous description of Buckingham House published in 1802, in ‘every room the encouragement given by his Majesty [George III] to ingenious constructors of time-pieces is apparent’. Among the evidence for this was an elaborate floor standing clock originally made for Queen Anne's husband, Prince George of Denmark, in the early eighteenth century. As a dedicated and knowledgeable horologist, George III was well qualified to appreciate the mathematical skill and technical ingenuity of the clock's workmanship. The timepiece runs for 390 days on a single winding, and its complex motion marks the time, date and day of the week. It is the work of Thomas Tompion (c.1639–1713), the foremost clockmaker in English history.