John Grant, 1781-1810, was unquestionably a brilliant clockmaker who sadly died prematurely at the age of 29. His master was the great Alexander Cumming who influenced his work considerably and in particular the present clock.
Its Grecian-enriched clock case, with its medallioned hood, hollow-sided altar plinth and glazed pedestal with medallioned tablet and Doric pilasters, is designed in the George III 'antique' manner of the 1770's. Its classic design, superbably figured mahogany veneer and panels framed with hollowed 'French' corners is typical of the work of Thomas Chipendale, d.1778, cabinet maker of St. Martin's Lane and author of The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Directory, 1754-63. The evolution of the design can be traced back to Alexander Cumming's great masterpiece the clock-driven barograph made for George III in around 1765 under the direction of the architect Sir William Chambers. However in particular it relates to Chippendale's marquetry and ormolu-enriched case with a Cumming barograph movement executed in tha 1770's and formally displayed at Lowther Castle and now on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum; see C. Gilbert Thomas Chippendale, London, 1978, figs. 35-7.
The unquestionable resemblence of the present clock case to Cumming's barograph clocks confirms that they were all made in Chippendale's workshops.