Act of Parliament clock

Act of Parliament clock
also called  tavern clock 

      weight-driven wall clock with a large wooden, painted or lacquered dial. More correctly, it is called a tavern clock. Clocks of this type were displayed by innkeepers and got their name from the passage of a five-shilling duty on clocks in Great Britain, introduced in 1797 by the English prime minister William Pitt the Younger (Pitt, William, The Younger). (Many clocks were disposed of by their owners, who consequently relied more on clocks in public places, and the effect on the clock-making industry was so disastrous that the act was repealed the following year.) Actually, these clocks were first made before the mid-18th century and were in use in servants' quarters of large houses as well as taverns.

Jonathan D. Betts
 

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Act of Parliament clock — (Act of) Parliament clock A type of wall clock (usu of mahogany, and with a large uncovered dial found esp in public houses) which became popular around 1797 in response to an act of parliament imposing a tax on all clocks and watches • • • Main… …   Useful english dictionary

  • (Act of) Parliament clock — A type of wall clock (usu of mahogany, and with a large uncovered dial found esp in public houses) which became popular around 1797 in response to an act of parliament imposing a tax on all clocks and watches ● parliament …   Useful english dictionary

  • Act of Parliament clock — An Act of Parliament clock is a type of large clock originally hung in inns and taverns in the United Kingdom, beginning in the mid 18th century. Such clocks were plain in design, the faces were around two to five feet in diameter, and they were… …   Wikipedia

  • Act of Parliament clock. — See Parliament clock. * * * …   Universalium

  • Act of Parliament clock. — See Parliament clock …   Useful english dictionary

  • Act of Parliament clock — noun A large clock, once hung in inns, erroneously thought to derive from a tax on clocks …   Wiktionary

  • Parliament clock — a pendulum wall clock of the late 18th century, usually having a black dial with gilt numbers: originally installed in English taverns because a burdensome tax prevented many homes from having private clocks. Also called Act of Parliament clock.… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Parliament clock — a pendulum wall clock of the late 18th century, usually having a black dial with gilt numbers: originally installed in English taverns because a burdensome tax prevented many homes from having private clocks. Also called Act of Parliament clock.… …   Universalium

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  • Pendulum clock — A pendulum clock is a clock that uses a pendulum, a swinging weight, as its timekeeping element. From its invention in 1656 by Christiaan Huygens until the 1930s, the pendulum clock was the world s most accurate timekeeper, accounting for its… …   Wikipedia

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