Family tradition states that King George II (d. 1760) presented this clock to Andrew stone who was private secretary to George II and tutor to George, Prince of Wales, later George III. It was then inherited by Andrew Stone's sister Anne, wife of William Barnard, Bishop of Londonderry, and thence by family descent until sold in 1970.

The case design, typically surmounted by a rectangular flat-top dome, relates to the Franco-Italian style popularised by the Huguenot ornamentalist Daniel Marot (d. 1752). Marot was architect to King William III at whose court silver mounted ebony furniture in the French manner was highly fashionable
Tompion employed silver mounts on some of his finest clocks, particularly those which were royal commissions. His introduction to the Court was through Dr. Robert Hooke, who besides being one of the leading scientific minds of the period, was architect of the 'Hotel' in Bloomsbury. This was the principal residence of Ralph Montague, the Keeper of the Great Royal Wardrobe who was responsible for the control of the purveyors to the Royal Palaces. Tompion's other notable Royal clocks are the Mostyn clock, the Castlemaine clock and a clock case made for William III sold at Christie's 25 February 1971, lot 36, both of which have giltmetal cases with silver enrichments. The Barnard clock may be considered a more refined version of the similar silver mounted ebony miniature bracket clock No.222, formerly in the Ilbert Collection and now in the Victorian and Albert Museum