A William III walnut and floral marquetry eight-day longcase clock John Clowes, London, circa 1700 The five finned pillar outside countwheel bell striking movement with tall plates measuring 7.5 inches high and anchor escapement regulated by seconds pendulum, the 11 inch square brass dial with ringed winding holes, subsidiary seconds dial and scroll border engraved calendar aperture to the matted centre within applied silvered Roman numeral chapter ring with stylised sword hilt half hour markers with Arabic five minutes to outer track and signed John Clowes, London to lower margin, with scroll pierced steel hands and twin cherub and crown cast spandrels to angles, in a case with crossgrain ogee moulded cornice and scroll-pierced frieze to lintel, over leafy trail inlaid glazed hood door applied with ebonised three-quarter columns to front angles and the sides with rectangular windows, the trunk with concave foliate marquetry veneered throat moulding over 42 inch rectangular door centred with a circular lenticle and decorated with bird inhabited floral sprays and scrolling foliage around an urn into an ebonised ground within repeating foliate motif border, the sides veneered with triple slender panels within strung and crossbanded borders, the base with crossgrain ogee top moulding and conforming rectangular marquetry panel with foliate border over bun feet, 196cm (77ins) high. John Clowes is recorded in Loomes, Brian Clockmakers of Britain 1286-1700 as born around 1651 in Odd Rode, Cheshire and was admitted as a Free Brother to the Clockmaker's Company in 1672/3. Clowes was described as a 'Great Clockmaker' (ie. maker of turret clocks) and initially worked from the parish of St. Giles in the Fields and then St. Clement Daines, Middlesex from 1680. In 1688 he married for the second time (after the death of his first wife, Ann Nettles who he married in 1681) to Tabitha Taylor, Daughter of clockmaker Thomas Taylor of Holborn. John Clowes took on many apprentices including Frances Gregg in 1691 and his son, also named John, in 1709. In 1697 he signed the Clockmaker's oath of allegiance and in 1703 he was described as being in Covent Garden. In 1705 John Clowes married his third wife, Eleanor Caris at St. Martin in the Fields. He became an Assistant of the Clockmaker's Company in 1708 and was due to serve as Warden in 1713 but was unable to do so due to ill health, he died in 1717. John Clowes work often displays flourished of individuality such as continued use of outside countwheel and tall plates long after most makers were employing internal countwheels. The sculpted brass block at the base of the hammer spring is another detail sometimes seen on movements by Clowes demonstrating his often quirky attention to detail.