The Oxford English Dictionary definition of ‘Clock’

 

Forms:  (OE clucge), ME clok, clokke, clocke, 15 klocke, 15– clock.

 

a. An instrument for the measurement of time; properly, one in which the hours, and sometimes lesser divisions, are sounded by strokes of a hammer on a bell or similar resonant body; but many clocks now do not strike. The mechanism consists of a train of wheels set in motion by weights or a spring, actuating and regulated by a pendulum or balance-wheel, and requiring to be periodically wound up; the passage of hours, minutes, etc., is indicated by ‘hands’ or pointers, on a ‘face’ or dial-plate.(The precise meaning in the earliest quots. is not certain.)

 

1371   Abbrev. Rotul. Origin. II. 314   Pro quadam campana pro horis diei et noctis per ipsam perpetuo designanda, clok vulgariter nuncupata, in eadem turri ponenda et sustentanda.

1371   in J. Britton Cathedrals, York 80   Till itte be hegh none smytyn by þe clocke.

1379   in J. T. Fowler Memorials Church SS. Peter & Wilfrid, Ripon (1888) III. 103   In expens. super le Clok, xxiiij petr. [plumbi].

c1386   Chaucer Nun's Priest's Tale 34   Sikerer was his crowyng..Than is a clok, or an abbay orologge.

1447   O. Bokenham Lyvys Seyntys (1835) 20   Evene as the clok sevene had smet She entryd.

▸c1449   R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 118   Neuere saue in late daies was eny clok telling the houris..bi peise and bi stroke.

a1616   Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) i. iii. 21   Their Armes are set, like Clocks, still to strike on.

a1640   W. Fenner Christs Alarm (1646) 359   When thou usest to stirre up conscience every day, wind it up as a man does his Clock.

1742   E. Young Complaint v. 629   Like damag'd clocks, whose hand and bell dissent.

a1850   H. W. Longfellow Old Clock on Stairs vii,   And in the hush that followed the prayer, Was heard the old clock on the stair,—For ever—never! Never—for ever!

 

Introduction

 

Clock’s seem to resemble a certain absoluteness; an enduring, constant forward movement that is undisturbed by any human action. Mazurkewycz highlights the ‘systematic coldness’ of the clock when comparing it to the more ‘subjective textures of lived experience and felt time’, showing that Eighteenth Century thinking was occupied by both methods of time representation. Sterne’s use of the Clock in his Magnum Opus, Tristram Shandy, is more ironic, emphasising and ridiculing the apparent weight placed by many in the period on exact time and keeping to the constraints of . His whole novel plays with the notion of time and its perceived subjectivity, and by using the medium of a clock, the most obvious timepiece, he furthers this assessment. 

 

Late 18th century thirty hour longcase clock by John Barnish from Rochdale, Lancashire. Oak and mahogany crossbanded case with reeded canted corners.. Wilson dial with floral gessoed corners and birds of paradise

 

It is important to draw attention to the exciting developments that were occurring in the Clock and Watch making industry around this time period.  Most significantly in the run up to the Eighteenth Century, the introduction of the pendulum radically improved the quality and accuracy of timekeeping. Galileo realised the isochronism of pendulums made them swing for a near exact period irrespective of size. The Dutch mathematician, Christiaan Huygens, took on ideas from Galileo in the middle of the 17^th century, and made further inroads into pendulum technology, however it was in England where the development was truly completed. The pendulum ideally needed to be lengthened, while reducing the arc of the swing, and for this a new type of escapement was necessary. The Anchor escapement pictured greatly advanced the effectiveness of clock technology, mainly by reducing the retardation that was occurring with the old verge escapement model. Moving in to the Eighteenth Century, England was so dominant in its practise of clock and watch work that King Louis XIV banned English imported clocks into France, in order to allow French clockmakers to remain profitable. This crucial time in the history of English clock making serves to show the importance and value of clocks; they were worth a lot of money at times and the relevance of this both literarily and culturally is notable. 

 

 

A simple illustration of the Anchor Escapement innovation

 

Clocks as history

 

It is fair to say the practise of Clock and Watch making really gained momentum around this period of European history. In the aftermath of the French cancellation of English Clock imports, many instructional books were being printed to budding clockmakers, as the obsession with a more exact sense of time was integrated into society. 

 

 

Hatton, introduction to the mechanical part of clock and watch work, outlining his intention

 

As we can see from these Eighteenth Century publications, there was definitely a sharing process of knowledge on the time keeping subject that pervaded the era, signifying the extent to which England emerged as one of the principal purveyors of cutting edge clocks. In Alexander Cumming’s work, The Elements of Clock and Watch Work, adapted to practise, we see at the start an explanation of the superiority of the pendulum:

 

 

Scientific literature in mainstream circulation on the progress clock making had taken is significant in understanding their role in Eighteenth Century Society.

When thinking about the relevance of this increase in interest in the exactness of clocks, Sherman’s Telling Time must be considered. He discusses the new Clocks and Watches emerging in the Eighteenth Century by saying they rendered ‘time palpable’, and in doing so ‘established themselves as the new point of reference not only for measuring time but for talking and thinking about it’. Thinking about time in exact terms led people away from a floundering existence, with the constant forward motion supposedly a way to combat the ‘motionlessness of terror’ that Mazurkewycz mentions. 

 

Clocks as Time

 

An example of the type of clock that appears in Tristram Shandy

 

Sterne’s Tristram Shandy is undoubtedly the Eighteenth Century text that involves clocks most influentially. In a satire running amok with social commentary, Sterne definitely ponders the prevalent issue aforementioned of the rigidity of time that the clock innovations seem to be championing. Drury in The Novel and the Machine accuses Sterne of having ‘no respect for the traditional unities of time’, a facet of the novel that can be visibly depicted from the illustration on page 425:

 

Sterne is so self-conscious when writing his novel that he seems to admit everything he does and still manages to make it ironic; in this case he defends his actions with the view that his novel works outside the realms of the modern pendulum clock, but rather adheres to ‘the train and succession of ideas’, calling it ‘the true scholastic pendulum’ deeply sarcastically.
He is interested, therefore, in refuting the kept time and working on his own subjective time, and he parodies the absoluteness of the modern clock’s set time right from the start of the novel:

 

“Pray, my dear, quoth my mother, have you not forgot to wind up the clock?——Good G—! cried my father, making an exclamation, but taking care to moderate his voice at the same time,——Did ever woman, since the creation of the world, interrupt a man with such a silly question? Pray, what was your father saying?——Nothing” Shandy, Page 6

 

Sterne makes the issue of time and accurate setting up of the clock seem completely ridiculous in this scenario, hyperbolically using the interruption it causes to explain a large amount of the problems Tristram seems to encounter. The underlying message seems to be that clocks, as a symbol of meticulous time keeping, challenge a certain human quality in their automaton-like persistence. Sterne liberates himself from the generic conventions of time by arranging his novel in whatever order he pleases, without chronology and based solely on the path his thought process takes him. The Clock seems to embody everything that is opposed to this. 

 

This perceived 18^th Century rigidity that Sterne seems to be attempting to shake off appears in Edward Young’s Night Thoughts, in which there is a fairly telling mention of this specific time piece:

 

“Like damaged clocks, whose hand and bell dissent;

Folly sings six, while Nature points at twelve.”

 

Here we see the clock used in a metaphor that is representing disorder, but in the ‘damaged’ form,

which seems to symbolise the clock as being ordered and disciplined. The fact that the hand and bell

‘dissent’ proves their natural course of action to be following the appropriate course of action methodically. The effectiveness of the metaphor is derived from the fact that clocks are seen, predominantly, as instruments of order and acute accuracy. 

 

The Value of Clocks

 

Fundamental to the discussion of the development of clocks in this period is the evidence to suggest their high value. Due to the major technological uses found for them, astronomical clocks were significant investments and required lots of money to create with quality; indeed, Cumming puts forth the opinion that ‘In clocks that are intended for astronomical and other very accurate observations, no expenses should be spared, while the performance can be further improved’.  

 

Astronomical clocks such as these were perceived as aesthetic for a long while, but the invention of the pendulum combined with the 18^th century astronomical revival made for a newfound interest in utilising their accurate readings. 

 

It is not just complex scientific clocks that received interest and value in the eighteenth century though, for many ‘ordinary’ clocks were also the subject of much petty crime and theft. The Old Bailey records show a fair amount of cases involving stolen clocks, notably in this case one of a more modern design:

 

“Deborah Stent , of the parish of St. Andrew Holborn , was indicted for breaking the House of John Brereton , commonly call'd John Lord Brereton, Baron of Lawly in the Kingdom of Ireland, on the 12th day of May last, in the Night, and stealing thence a Pendulum Clock. value 30 l”– Old Bailey records

 

Mrs Stent was found guilty of felony, and it is telling that the Pendulum Clock was the item of choice in Mr Brereton’s house; evidently these items were held up as pieces of the finest technology at this time.

Records also display an even more audacious incident that occurred in January 1709:

 

“Charles Conly , was Indicted for privately stealing from the Person of Richard Morrice , a silver Watch, Chain and Seal, value 6 l. the Goods of the said Richard Morrice , on the 26th of November last. It appear'd that as the Prosecutor pass'd by the Prisoners Door, the Prisoner engag'd him to come into his Brandy Shop, and ask'd him to drink a Dram; the Prosecutor consented, and the Prisoner Hug'd and Kiss'd him, and was more than ordinary kind, but as soon as he was out of the Prisoners House he miss'd his Watch, which he pull'd out in the Shop, at the request of the Prisoner, to tell him what was aClock. It appear'd there was no Body near the Prosecutor but the Prisoner, who being a Man of an ill Character, and the Circumstances very plain, the Jury found him Guilty of Felony .” – Old Bailey records

 

In this instance the prisoner was so keen to steal the watch he even dared to ask his victim for the time in order to steal his valuable time piece. 

 

 

Bibliography

 

Eighteenth Century Text

 

Cumming, Alexander. The elements of clock and watch-work, adapted to practice. In two essays. By Alexander Cumming, Member of the Phil. Soc. Edinb. London,  MDCCLXVI. [1766].

 

Derham, W. (William). The artificial clock-maker. A treatise of watch and clock-work, shewing to the meanest capacities the art of calculating numbers to all sorts of movements; the Way to Alter Clock-Work; to Make chimes, and Set them to Musical Notes; and to Calculate and Correct the Motion of pendulums. Also numbers for divers movements: with the antient and modern history of clock-work; and many instruments, tables, and other matters, never before published in any other Book. The third edition, with large emendations and additions. By W. D. F.R.S. London,  1714.

 

Hatton, Thomas. An introduction to the mechanical part of clock and watch work. In two parts. Containing all the arithmetic and geometry necessary, With their Particular Application in the said Branches. A Work very useful for the Working Mechanic, or Gentlemen Mechanically Inclined. Illustrated by eighteen copper-plates, Geometrically Drawn for the Use of the Trade. By Thomas Hatton, Watch-Maker. London,  MDCCLXXIII. [1773].

 

Sterne, Laurence. The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. 1759-67 Ed. Melvyn New. Gainesville, UP of Florida, 1978-84

 

Young, Edward. Young’s Night Thoughts Ed. George Gilfillan, Project Gutenberg, 2010

 

Secondary Sources

 

Drury, Joseph. The Novel and the Machine in the Eighteenth Century, ‘Novel: A Forum on Fiction’, 42:2, 2009

 

Mazurkewycz, Christine A.. "Chronic time, telling texts: forms of temporality in the eighteenth century." PhD diss., University of Iowa, 2013.

 

Vincent, Clare. "European Clocks in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/clck/hd_clck.htm (October 2003) 

 

Old Bailey Sources

 

Defendant: Charles Conly, Reference Number: t17090117-23, Date: 17^th January 1709, Offence: Theft, Pocketpicking

 

Defendant: Deborah Stent, Reference Number: t17140630-30, Date: 30^th June 1714, Offence: Theft, Burglary