Oak Longcase Clock by David sutherland

 This fine early 19th-century oak longcase clock by David Sutherland of Keith dates to around 1805. The 8-day domestic regulator movement features a deadbeat escapement, maintaining power, rack strike/silent functions and a calendar. 

 The honey-coloured oak case is accented by fluted columns and quarter cut panels. The blued steel hands provide a striking contrast to the finely engraved silvered brass dial, which is elegantly decorated with roses and acorns. David Sutherland was known to be in business in Keith around the year 1805.

Maker: David Sutherland

Place: Keith

Date:  c.1805

Movement:  8-day domestic regulator with rack strike on a single bell.  Timed by a Dead beat escapement with maintaining power and wooden rod compensation pendulum.   The silvered one piece brass dial is read by blued steel hands against an engraved silvered chapter ring with engraved roman numerals.  A  subsidiary seconds dial is shown above the centre and to the lower, the calendar is displayed.

Case: solid Oak

Dimensions: 86 inches tall 

Price: £4800 

All of our antique clocks are available to view by appointment at our workshop showroom located in the grounds of The Drum, Edinburgh.

 David Sutherland was known to be in business in Keith around the year 1805.  At that time, Keith was a thriving market town, occupying a strategic position on the main route between Aberdeen and Inverness. Renowned for its busy cattle markets and agricultural trade, the town served as a commercial hub for the surrounding farming communities, with merchants, craftsmen and innkeepers benefiting from the constant flow of travellers and livestock through the district.

The early nineteenth century was a time of growing prosperity. Improvements to roads under the influence of the great military and parliamentary road-building programmes made Keith increasingly accessible, strengthening links with Aberdeen, Inverness and the ports of the Moray Firth. The surrounding countryside was undergoing the Agricultural Revolution, bringing advances in farming methods and increasing demand for the work of skilled tradesmen, including joiners, blacksmiths, cabinetmakers and clockmakers.

Although a relatively small town, Keith supported a number of accomplished craftsmen whose work reflected the growing confidence and prosperity of the region. Clocks made in Keith during this period are comparatively uncommon and are valued today as fine examples of provincial Scottish craftsmanship, combining practicality with the distinctive character of the north-east of Scotland.