Rare clock ticks the boxes to tax bidders at city auction

The clock is one of a number which were installed in public buildings when Parliament introduced a "clock tax" in 1797.

As people abandoned their own clocks and timepieces to avoid the tax, businesses cashed in by putting up their own on interior walls to lure customers through the doors.

The model due to go on offer at Shapes Auction House in Sighthill tomorrow is six foot high, and signed by a Robert Lumpkins, with a painted dial and arched door.

Timepieces from the clock tax era are highly-sought after because the tax was so unpopular that it was scrapped within a year. Owners of a basic watch were expected to pay two shillings and sixpence every year, rising to ten shillings for a gold watch.

The auction house has already received a number of telephone bids for the clock, which is expected to exceed its estimated value of 2,500 – 3,000, according to senior auctioneer Paul Howard.

"I think it will go above 3,000, I think it will be nearer to 5,000, going by the interest shown in them," he said.

"They don't turn up very often. The popularity is really to do with the history because they were so short-lived.

"Although there are quite a few out there, not many come to auction."

The clock came to the auction house from a private collection, but Mr Howard explained: "I think we will never know where it came from originally.

"It came from a private house in the past few weeks but a long time ago it would have been in a tavern or inn somewhere, but it's lost in the mists of time.

"In the 12 years I've been with Shapes, it's the first one we've had for auction.

"It's a quite good decorative thing – if you like black. It's a pretty big beastie and for those who like their clocks, a good decorative piece with Chinoiserie decoration, which is a kind of British idea of what the Orient was about, with Chinese figures running about.

"The face has been regilted – like most faces, they become worn and wear off over time."

He added: "I think it's most likely to go to a clock dealer in Scotland or in England, although occasionally we get interior designers dipping their toe in the water."

The other prize buys of Saturday's sale include a 1920s child's Alfa Romeo P2 car, expected to sell for up to 1,500, and a watercolour by Archibald Thorburn, which could reach 6,000.