GRADE I † C13 et seq, on early C12 site. Gradual development but (unusually) with little obvious C19 work BHO. Good C16 bench ends. S porch built c1440, originally thatched, with the polar scaphe sundial added later, see LINK. The multiple scratch dials of St Margaret are shown below. DEH recorded 4, but there are several more. 5m NW of Yeovil; just S of dread A303. 50.9746 / -2.7156 / ST498197

DIALS

I visited St Margaret some time ago and have mislaid my notes on the various locations. The dials are all on the S side and all but one are in predictable locations though a couple are not easy to see. Most are on buttresses. One dial (3) is quite high up and would be easy to overlook. There are enough dials for me to skip – and for you to be spared – analysis of each one individually (for the time being at least).

DIAL 1

On the buttress at E end of the church

DIAL 2

On the same buttress as dial 1

DIAL 3

High on a buttress, E end

DIAL 4

S buttress

DIAL 5

On the buttress E of the Priest’s door

DIAL 6

Close to Dial 5

DIAL 7

S buttress

DIAL 8

S buttress near doorway

DIAL 9

E of porch

DIAL 10 (?)

According to the very useful resource Sundials On The Internet, the smallest known scratch dial is at St Margaret’s, location unspecified. It measures a mere 2 inches in height. Possibly it is the hole below. There is a very similar one at Leintwardine Shrops that has been deemed a dial, though it’s just hole with a couple of minimal indentations around it. I saw no other candidate, and had I not known about the 2″ dial I would have passed this by without a second glance.

GSS Category: Scratch Dials; Mass Dial; Medieval Sundial; Multiple Scratch Dials

All photos: Keith Salvesen