Lot Essay
John Ellicott, F.R.S., London, b.1706, d.1772, Fellow of Council of the Royal Society and Clockmaker to the King.
This regulator ably demonstrates Ellicott's best work. It is a prime example of combining top quality regulator clockmaking and casework of fine proportions with best veneer.
Ellicott developed his compensated pendulum in 1752, but it was not universally adopted because it tended to work erratically. For a description of his paper to the Royal Society in 1752 and its methods used to compensate for the influences of heat and cold see; Tom Robinson, The Longcase Clock, 1981, pp.387-393, ppl.11/4-12
In the present clock the stopwork is engaged when winding by means of a lever mounted on the backplate being pushed upwards by the rising driving weight. A very similar arrangement on an Ellicott regulator is shown in R W Symonds, A Book of English Clocks, 1947, pl.69
This regulator ably demonstrates Ellicott's best work. It is a prime example of combining top quality regulator clockmaking and casework of fine proportions with best veneer.
Ellicott developed his compensated pendulum in 1752, but it was not universally adopted because it tended to work erratically. For a description of his paper to the Royal Society in 1752 and its methods used to compensate for the influences of heat and cold see; Tom Robinson, The Longcase Clock, 1981, pp.387-393, ppl.11/4-12
In the present clock the stopwork is engaged when winding by means of a lever mounted on the backplate being pushed upwards by the rising driving weight. A very similar arrangement on an Ellicott regulator is shown in R W Symonds, A Book of English Clocks, 1947, pl.69