A wall clock is any clock designed to hang on a wall rather than stand on the floor, a shelf or a table. The term covers a wide range of types, from simple dial clocks and hooded wall clocks to the tall, glazed Vienna regulator, the cuckoo clock and the large tavern clock.
In Britain, weight-driven lantern clocks were often hung on walls in the seventeenth century, and by the eighteenth century large-dialled wall clocks were installed in inns, offices and public buildings. The English dial clock, with its round painted or silvered dial and fusee movement, became a fixture of Victorian railway stations, schools, offices and kitchens. In continental Europe, Vienna regulators with glazed cases and long pendulums were produced in great numbers, especially in Austria and Germany, while the Black Forest supplied cuckoo clocks and many other inexpensive wall clocks. Collectors consider the quality and originality of the movement, whether the dial has been restored, the condition of the case and whether the clock retains its original pendulum, weights and key. A well-chosen wall clock brings both function and character to a hallway, kitchen or study, and its steady tick adds life to a quiet room.
