A RARE MAHOGANY DROP-DIAL WALL TIMEPIECE FOR THE POOR LAW COMMISSION, SOMERSET HOUSE, LONDON

The finely figured mahogany case with turned surround above the drop trunk and canted base with inset door, the cast-brass bezel with convex glass above the silvered 12in dial, engraved with Queen Victoria’s Royal cypher below the crown and engraved on a ribbon POOR LAW COMMISSION, signed VULLIAMY LONDON above the six, the wire gut fusée movement signed to backplate VULLIAMY London No. 1304, with anchor escapement 

64cm high overall

The Poor Law Commission, established in 1834, tasked with administering poor relief, following the Poor Law Amendment Act.  The Commission's responsibilities included establishing workhouses.  Initially established for a five-year period, it was extended until 1847 when it was replaced by the Poor Law Board.  The central authority, based at Somerset House,  had three Commissioners. 

Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy (d. 1854) was Clockmaker to George III and also to The Prince Regent, later George IV. 

A special exhibition at the The Clockmakers' Museum, housed at the Science Museum, South Kensington, Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy: A Champion of British Craftsmanship, until 2 November 2025.

https://www.clockmakers.org/vulliamy

https://blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk/benjamin-lewis-vulliamy-a-champion-of-british-craftsmanship/

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

Antiquarian Horology, Vol. 19, No. 6, December 1991, p.56, for Roger Smith's Vulliamy Clock Numbering A Dated Series.

CONDITION REPORT

Lacking its pendulum and with no key.  The clock is in need of sympathetic restoration.  The lefthand side door is missing.  The moulding to the trunk on the left side is missing.  A small veneer loss to each side of the underside of the trunk.  The movement is dirty and requires a clean.