Clocks come in distinct families, each with its own history and place in the home. Here are the ones you will meet most often.
The wall clock is the everyday fixture of homes worldwide. The mantel (or shelf) clock sits on a fireplace or table and often chimes the hours.
A carriage clock is a small, portable clock with a carrying handle on top, historically for travel. The longcase clock — better known as the 'grandfather clock' — is the tall floor-standing clock with a swinging pendulum, a British invention of the 17th century.
The cuckoo clock, carved in Germany's Black Forest, sounds a mechanical bird on the hour. The modern atomic (radio-controlled) clock quietly syncs itself to an official national time signal, so it is essentially never wrong and never needs setting.