You might have seen these in old movies or even in families, who have designed their house in a traditional way. They stand in one corner of the room and tick tock calmly. We feel as if they are watching over us with care. And may be due to this reason, we call them the ‘Grandfather clocks’. It is also known as a long case clock, floor clock and a tall case clock. These are mostly pendulum driven clocks. Their height is usually 6-8 feet. These clocks are weight driven and stand free.

The origin of grandfather clock dates back to 1670. The English clockmaker William Clement is said to have designed the first grandfather clock. The structure of the clock is roughly the same. The clock consists of two parts, the clock face or the dial and the case. The case is long and broad and the dial is usually round but can also be available in various other shapes. Most of the times, these clocks are striking clocks. This means that they chime once after each half an hour and strike as many times as the time after every hour.

These clocks are broadly named as ‘grandfather clocks’, ‘grandmother clocks’ or ‘granddaughter clocks’. There is hardly any difference between them. But sometimes, small clocks of 5 feet height are termed as ‘granddaughter clocks’, those with over 5 feet are called as ‘grandmother clocks’ and obviously those with about 6-8 feet height are the ‘grandfather clocks’. Earlier these clocks showed 2 types of movement i.e. eight-day and 30-hour movement. The clocks with 30 hours movement had to be winded everyday. On the other hand, the 8-day clock had to be winded once every week.

There is a short history as to why these long case clocks came to be called ‘grandfather clocks’. Two brothers were working in a hotel. After some days, one of the brothers passed away. Thereafter it was observed that the ‘grandfather clock’, which they owned started losing time. The other brother lived up to the age of 90. When he died, the referred clock refused to function any more. The people of the town decided that the clock should never be repaired. This story was narrated to Henry Clay work the American composer and songwriter. He got inspired by this and penned down the song ‘My Grandfathers clock’. Thus, the long case clock got its new name.