Object No.
H9889Object Statement
Regulator clock, sidereal-time, wood / metal / glass, made by William Hardy, London, England, 1808-1810, used at the Parramatta and Sydney Observatories, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1821-1980Physical Description
The Hardy regulator clocks consists of a timber clock casing and the internal mechanism. The timber case can be split into three main sections, the base, the middle and hood, with the internal mechanism being made up of the movement, clock face and pendulum.
The hollow wooden base is made of a lighter brown wood than the other clock parts. It is a rectangular base with a plain edge on the top and bottom. There is a small hole in the top right hand side. This is not the original clock base, but a modern replacement.
The middle section is made of a dark timber with column fluting, running vertically on the left and right hand side of the central door. The door has a rectangular frame and features a glass panel through which the clocks' pendulum and weights can be viewed. Above the door is the top section, which the hood of the clock slots over to house the movement and dial.
The hood section made of the same dark timber and features an arched top, with column fluting running vertically on each of the two front corners. The centre of the hood has a circular glass window, which can be swung open, through which the clock dial can be viewed. The hood has finely decorated cornice edges and features two circular patterns carved on the left and right sides, imitating small windows.
There are also two small wood screws for securing the movement to the clocks body.
Housed within the clocks body is the movement and pendulum.
The clock movement consists of two main component, the movement or mechanism and the clock face. The movement is made up of a series of brass gears and levers, sandwiched between two brass plates. At the back of the movement there is a small pendulum clip, which the longer pendulum is attached to. The clock face is made of a silver metal and has three main dials. The largest outer dial features numerals '5' through to '60' in increments of five, indicating the minutes, while two smaller dials, one above the other, indicate the seconds and the hours. The clock face has two hands, one for the seconds dial and another for the minutes. The movement is mounted to the top portion of the clocks body, with the hood sliding over the top.
The pendulum is made of brass and metal and comprises three sections. The top features a small rectangular brass clip, used for attaching the pendulum to the back section of the movement, allowing the pendulum to swing. The main body of the pendulum is made from a silver metal and has a small circular hole at the top for clip attachment and a small point at the base for the cage attachment. The final section is the pendulum bob cage and consits of two flat metal sides and a circular brass base for housing the bob. The cage also has a small round nut for fastening the pendulum bob in place.
The pendulum bob is a cylindrical glass tube, which is open at one end. The weight is also cylindrical in shape and consists of a brass casing around grey metal core, possibly lead. The top of the weight has a small hook for attaching to the puylley system while the base has a small dent on one side. The pulley, also made of brass, consists of a single cog, connected to a square clip that the weight can be balance from.Marks
Engraved on the front of the clock face "W.m Hardy London" and "Inv.t et Fecit"