A Time of Change, a Change of Time

Date: 1598

Size: H: 590mm W: 260mm L: 233mm

Made in: London

Made by: Nicholas Vallin

Material: Steel, Brass, Gold

Time hasn’t always moved as fast as it does in the 20th century. Of course, this isn’t true, but in today’s fast-paced world of constant communication, commuting and commitments, maybe it just feels like the clock is ticking faster.

The way we perceive and organise time is shaped to a large extent by our ability to measure it. Shakespeare’s audience would have been familiar with clocks and telling the time: there are over 80 references to clocks in his plays, making it clear to us that ‘Shakespearean’ time was well on its way to being modern time.

Public clocks, and increasingly private clocks like this one made in London in 1598, were used to orchestrate the workings of the city – and when the clock struck 2 o’clock, it was time to head to the theatre.

This object is from the British Museum

Watch a video of the Musical Clock

British Museum Blog: Perceptions of Time by Paul Glennie, University of Bristol

• In 1400, there were only 25 public clocks in England but by 1500, 'telling the time' was a normal thing to do
• Clock time is often addressed in negative terms: socially oppressive, against the natural order, omnipotent and all-pervasive
• There are over 80 references to clocks in Shakespeare's plays
• This Vallin clock is quite cutting edge in that it strikes the quarter hour and also has a minute hand - far from common in 1600
• Musical clocks were rare in England at this time - though relatively well known in Germany and the Netherlands

Melvyn Bragg examines the history of mankind’s attempt to understand the nature of time. Does it exist independently of our perception of it, or is it merely a figment of our imagination?

Listen to the programme