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Grandfather Clock Chimes
Most grandfather clocks play the Westminster Chime, the Big Ben tune, at each quarter hour and then strike the hour. Many also offer two other tunes, Whittington and St Michael's, chosen with a lever on the dial. A grandfather clock is properly called a longcase clock; the nickname comes from an 1876 song.
The four-note phrase a grandfather clock plays at a quarter past the hour.
How a grandfather clock tells the time
| Time | What you hear |
|---|---|
| Quarter past | One short phrase of the chime tune. |
| Half past | Two phrases. |
| Quarter to | Three phrases. |
| The hour | Four phrases, then a deeper note strikes once for each hour. |
The tune gets longer as the hour goes on, so you can tell the quarter by ear. The full story of the Westminster tune, its four notes and its words, is in the Westminster Chime.
The three classic chimes
- Westminster: by far the most common, the four-bell tune of Big Ben, first written for a church in Cambridge in 1793.
- Whittington: a brighter eight-bell tune, traditionally linked to the bells of St Mary-le-Bow in London and the story of Dick Whittington.
- St Michael's: a longer, rippling chime on eight bells, named after St Michael's Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Clocks that can play all three are often called triple-chime or tri-chime clocks.
Rods, tubes and bells
Most modern grandfather clocks sound their tunes on chime rods, tuned steel rods struck by small hammers. Grander clocks use long tubular bells, which give a deeper, more church-like sound, and older English longcase clocks often struck a single cast bell.
Why is it called a grandfather clock?
The name comes from the 1876 song My Grandfather's Clock by the American songwriter Henry Clay Work, about a clock that stopped when its owner died. The song was a huge hit, and "grandfather clock" replaced "longcase clock" in everyday speech.
Turning the chime off at night
Most chiming clocks have a silence lever on the dial, and many have an automatic night shut-off that rests the chime overnight. On a phone, the BELFRY app does the same with quiet hours.
A grandfather clock on your phone
The BELFRY app includes a recorded grandfather clock voice and a Grandfather Clock set, along with the Westminster quarters and Big Ben, and can chime the quarters and strike the hours in the background, with quiet hours overnight. The app is free with no ads; the grandfather clock comes with the one-time $9.99 Lifetime Unlock.
Questions people ask
What does a grandfather clock chime?
Usually the Westminster Chime on the quarter hours, followed by the hour struck on a lower note. Many clocks can also play Whittington and St Michael's chimes.
What are the three chimes on a grandfather clock?
Westminster, Whittington and St Michael's. Clocks that play all three are called triple-chime clocks.
Why is it called a grandfather clock?
After the 1876 song My Grandfather's Clock by Henry Clay Work. Before that it was called a longcase clock.
How do I stop my grandfather clock chiming at night?
Use the silence lever on the dial, or the automatic night shut-off if your clock has one.
Is there an app that sounds like a grandfather clock?
Yes. BELFRY includes a recorded grandfather clock and the Westminster quarters, chiming in the background on iPhone and Android with quiet hours overnight.
A grandfather clock in your pocket
BELFRY chimes the quarters and strikes the hours on real recorded bells, a grandfather clock among them, with your phone locked. Free to download, no ads, ever.
