A grandfather clock, also floor clock or longcase clock, is a freestanding clock with a pendulum held inside its own tower, commonly around 6-8 ft tall. The tower often features elaborately carved wood at the head, surrounding the clock face. The English clockmaker William Clement is credited with the development of this form in 1670.

How grandfather clocks got their name

Over one hundred years ago there was a hotel known as the George Hotel that was managed by two brothers named Jenkins. The hotel had a floor clock that kept time very well.

One of the two brothers died, and the clock started to lose time. Repair attempts were made, but they all failed. When the other brother died at the age of 90, the clocked stopped running altogether, and was never repaired in remembrance of the brothers.

Around 1875, Henry Work , a song writer, was staying at the George Hotel and learned the story of the old floor clock. He decided to write a song about the clock. The song became very popular and sold over a million copies.

The first part of the song goes: "Oh, my grandfather's clock was too tall for the shelf, so it stood ninety years on the floor. It was taller by half than the old man himself, though it weighed not a pennyweight more." After this, people started calling floor clocks by the name grandfather clocks.

See also

Grandfather Clocks at Clock Types