ST MARY . MARSTON MAGNA . SOM .

GRADE I. Pre-conquest origins, largely rebuilt in c.1360 and reworked thereafter. Plenty to investigate and to test your building dating skills. BLB summary HERE. 5m NE of Yeovil, NW of Sherborne. 50.999 / -2.5807 / ST593223

DIAL

A single dial. St Mary was visited by DEH on May 18th 1915 and he recorded:

199. This dial is on the first buttress to the w. of the priest’s door. It is 7 feet 4 inches above the ground, the noon-line is 4 1/2 inches in length, the style hole is 1/2 an inch deep by 3/4 of an inch in diameter, and the aspect is s. by 10°e. Type 3. May 18th, 1915.

The radials go beyond 180º, with quite a variation in spacing, depth, and length. There are notably longer and deeper afternoon lines with one extending to the stone below, which may signify a Mass time. Either that quadrant more deeply incised, or maybe recut at a later date. The extent of erosion in the lower left quadrant suggests the latter.

The style hole is large. DEH makes no comment on the equally large hole immediately above. I could see no other dial signs – lines or pocks – linked to it. I wondered if it was the original dial on this prominent buttress, of the most basic type – simply a hole with a stick in it (the shadow would still be an indicator of the passage of time). Rather than elaborate it, a new dial was added beneath.

GSS Category: Scratch Dial

Photos: Keith Salvesen