Robert Wood, the great-great-grandfather of Julian Wood Glass Jr., purchased this eight-day clock from Winchester clockmaker Goldsmith Chandlee. Eight-day clocks require winding once every eight days; the length of the wire cords and the load of the lead weights permit this protracted length of time without resetting the mechanism. The height of such clocks gives them a grand presence. Household inventories of Virginia gentry record tall clocks and cases as the most valuable objects in houses, unless the family owned extraordinary silver or lavish bed furnishings. Robert Wood owned silver; however, this clock and case were valued considerably more than all of his silver combined.

The painted dial has the twelve hours marked in Roman numerals with the corresponding minutes marked in Arabic numerals. The arched dial has a twelve-hour lunar work to show the phases of the moon; the twelve-hour dial to indicate the day’s date is below the hands. The movement, which is the true substance of a clock, is the work of Chandlee. Chandlee did not, however, make the painted dial; it was made in Birmingham, England. Chandlee’s knowledge of these dials and his ability to procure them early on attest to his sophistication.

Clockmaker Goldsmith Chandlee trained in the town of his birth, Nottingham (Chester County),  Pennsylvania, with his father, Benjamin Chandlee Jr., also a clockmaker. Goldsmith was the fourth generation in his family to pursue clock making. The curious first name “Goldsmith” was that of his maternal grandfather; by honoring him with that name, Goldsmith’s Chandlee’s parents were also associating him with the highest level of metalsmiths, a group that included clockmakers. When Goldsmith Chandlee left his close-knit Quaker family to move to Virginia, in 1775, he joined an uncle, Abel Chandlee, who had been living there since 1760. Like many metalworkers of his time, Goldsmith Chandlee’s skills in precious materials established him as a leading citizen of Winchester. Goldsmith Chandlee’s skills were not limited to clocks but crossed over into the related disciplines of making sundials, compasses and other surveying instruments, and mathematical instruments, as well as repairing watches.

It is unknown who crafted the cases of Chandlee’s clocks, but their close similarities suggest the same Winchester cabinetmaker made them. In making a case, cabinetmakers had to account for the height of the eight-day weights; they made cases above that height, such as this one, for patrons who requested it. Cases on Chandlee’s tall clocks are constructed of mahogany, walnut, or cherry. The rosettes at the ends of the scrolls on the pediment all droop in just the same way. This is probably because the cabinetmaker used the same template. The case doors (called waist doors) and the small panel on the base all have the same curved corner detail.

In the 1700s and early 1800s, everyone in the house depended on that single tall clock to give the time. Common locations were front passages (as with this example), dining rooms, and front parlors. Such clocks were sensitive instruments, and owners rarely moved them about the house. Here, in the front passage of the Glen Burnie Historic House, the family had easy access to the great clock. Thanks to diligent care, it has greeted visitors for more than two centuries, all of whom have admired the locally made clock in the house of one of Winchester’s most prominent families.