Alarm Clocks wake up to the history of these indispensable bedside

We’ve all had one at some time, many of us need to it get us out of our gloriously comfortable beds from The Bedroom Lewes in the morning, and it’s one of the biggest selling timepiece items around the world. The alarm clock seems to have been with us forever, but although it has a long and varied history, it’s only been with us in its present form for around 60 years.

Sources say that the earliest version of the alarm clock can be found in Greece, around 250 BC, where a water clock was used. The rising water was used to keep time, but also eventually hit a mechanical bird, making it whistle loudly. Other documents show very basic alarm clocks appearing as early as the 15^th century and there are several occurrences of alarm clocks in the 17^th century. These clocks were much bigger than the alarm clocks we know today.

It wasn’t really until settlers took alarm clock technology to North America that they started to be made in bigger quantities and smaller sizes. Clockmakers in New Hampshire and Massachusetts developed clocks with both wooden and brass workings which incorporated alarms around 1820-1840 and in 1876, the Seth Thomas Clock Company was granted a patent for a bedside alarm clock. These small models became popular quickly and were soon being manufactured by major US and German companies.

The first chime alarm clock was introduced in 1931, and the snooze function is widely believed to have been invented by Lew Wallace, the author of “Ben Hur”, although the first marketed version was seen in the late 1950s.

Today, there is a huge range of alarm clocks on the market, from tiny bedside clocks to wall-projecting alarm clocks, clock radios, alarm clocks in different shapes, colours and sizes. You can set your mobile phone to be an alarm clock and there are lots of travel alarm clocks available to keep you on time during holidays of business travel. In fact, where would you be without one?