Beschreibung:

Regulator Clock. A very rare George III period regulator clock by William Hardy, London circa 1806, the silvered dial signed 'Willm Hardy Invt et Fecit London' with outer minute track engraved with Arabic numerals, two subsidiary dials including seconds dial and a small winding hole, the brass movement supported by four substantial pillars and six-spoke wheels, with weighted pendulum with numbered brass nut (1-8 inclusive), with five-spoke brass pulley and brass weight, the oak case made in the early 20th century to support the clock (the old case was damaged when the abbey observatory caught fire in 1867), the case 194 cm high (Quantity: 1) Provenance: Downside Abbey, Somerset, UK. William Hardy is recorded as working at 28 Coppice Row, Cold Bath Square, Clerkenwell, London from 1800-1830. He was a forward thinking horologist who was principally a chronometer maker, famous for patenting a number of compensated balances. In 1806 he submitted for trial at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich a spring pallet remontoire escapement of such a high standard that it was considered by many a masterpiece. As a result of the Greenwich trial, a number of observatories, worldwide, had ordered regulators from Hardy, but due mostly to mishandling, corrosion, and climatic conditions, many of the regulators failed to perform well and were later fitted with different escapements. This destroyed the reputation of Hardy and his business went into decline in 1830 and he died two years later. For further reading please see Loomes, B. Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World, N.A.G. Press, London 2006 Britten, F.J.). Old Clocks and Watches and Their Makers - A History of Styles in Clocks and Watches and their Mechanisms, Bloomsbury Books, London 1986