English wall clocks have evolved over a period of nearly 300 years and their appeal and longevity is without doubt due to their visual accessibility and excellent timekeeping qualities.

Figure 5. A later tavern clock, from the last quarter of the 18th century. The white dial would have made the time easier to read, especially in a dimly lit and smoky tavern! By the end of the 18th century the fashion for large wall clocks gave way to one for much smaller clocks with simpler and more elegant cases

There can be little doubt that a wall clock has much to commend it. It takes up very little space, is out of harm's way and (if suitably placed) visually accessible even in a crowded room. All these factors contributed to wall clocks being used in both domestic and public buildings.
The first English domestic wall clocks to be introduced in the 1700s were the small and elaborately carved cartel clocks. These were purely domestic clocks and, as you would expect, they were made to complement the highly decorative furniture of the period. The cases were carved from wood and then gilded. The dials were usually sil-vered brass and normally around 8 inches in diameter.
The lavishly carved cases of the early cartel clocks were not to everyone's taste and eventually the cases became less flamboyant, ultimately evolving into the much simpler English wall clock. The cartel clock had a spring-driven fusee movement and verge escapement. A fusee is a device incorporated to even the torque of the mainspring, and improve the timekeeping. The verge escapement, although reliable, was not very accurate and it was not until the adoption of the recoil anchor escapement that accurate time-keeping was achieved and the large-scale production of wall clocks as we now know them commenced.
Around the 1720s a much larger wall clock began to appear - the 'tavern' or 'Act of Parliament' clock. These clocks were primarily public clocks situated in taverns and coaching inns but they were also to be found in public halls and even churches. In the 18th and early 19th century only the very wealthy could afford clocks and watches, most people would have to rely on the local church clock for communal timekeeping. Coaching inns and taverns were one of the first places where clocks were displayed for the use of the general public.
By the 1750s regular, scheduled coach services were taking place between most of the major towns and cities in England. Journeys could take days or even weeks to complete and each town would have staging taverns or coaching inns where passengers could alight and spend the night. An accurate clock would have been considered an essential requirement. These tavern clocks were weight driven and employed an accurate recoil anchor escapement; the dials were made deliberately large and easy to view, even in a bustling room.
Although frequently referred to as 'Act of Parliament' clocks, this term is strictly not correct, as the Act (passed in 1797) imposed a duty or tax on most clocks and watches, not solely those clocks in taverns and public places or of this particular design.
The majority of early tavern clocks had a large shield-shaped or circular black dial with gold-leaf numerals and large brass counterbalanced hands. The dial and hands were unprotected by a bezel and glass. The cases employed a trunk beneath the dial to accommodate the weight and pendulum and the whole of the case was usually decorated in a chinoiserie design which was popular at the time. By the 1790s thestyle of the tavern clock had moved on. Cases were more simply decorated and were often constructed from veneered mahogany or oak, incorporating a round dial with black Roman numerals and brass hands. Most tavern clocks are timepieces only, i.e. they do not strike the hours, and are always weight-driven.