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ST MAURICE . VAL-d’ILLIEZ
We passed this small church on the Swiss / French border several times, noting the dial and the commonplace Motto. The final time we passed through the village I took a photo from the car (I wasn’t the driver). There’s always some joy in collecting an unpretentious dial in congenial place. This is a rather blurry example.
GSS Category: Vertical Dial; Church Dial; Sundial Motto; Carpe Diem
All photos: Keith Salvesen / Rolling Harbour
MAX GATE
Max Gate is a fine house on the eastern edge of Dorchester, designed and built by Thomas Hardy (with his father and brother) in 1885. He lived there until his death in 1928. He had two wives, Emma and then Florence, and during the ‘Max Gate years’ there were complicated relationships, sadly beyond the scope of this article.
In 1940 the house was bequeathed to the National Trust by Hardy’s sister. It was listed Grade I in 1970 with the stipulation that it should be lived in. The NT gives generous access to the interior, and there are conducted tours of the house and grounds. It is not exactly ‘lived in’, but it does feel homely rather than museum-like. To see Hardy’s desk and other writerly items feels a privilege. ‘Tess’ was written there, also ‘Jude’, the ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge’, and much of his poetry.
MAX GATE – VERTICAL SUNDIAL
High up on the east tower, the dial is a good example of a sundial that (besides its primary use) acts as a memorial, and tastefully reflects the significance of the dedicatee. It is also very visible and easy to read at a distance. The lightly ornamental gnomon is moored at the bottom right corner as you face the dial. The style is simple, with 12 hours marked from 7.00am to 6.00pm and 24 radials to record half hours. The dial plate is white-painted wood. Overall the dial is in poor condition, but I gather that there are plans to carry out complete restoration during 2026.
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MOTTO
QUID DE NOCTE?
Literally, ‘WHAT OF THE NIGHT ?’ Interrogative sundials are relatively unusual, and I am unsure when the inclusion of question-marks began. The simplest reply might be ‘NIHIL’ – the sun is asleep.
.The marriage certificate (1839) of Thomas Hardy’s parents at Melbury Osmond church, Dorset
GSS Category: Vertical Dial; Memorial Dial; Dial Mottoes
Credits: Keith Salvesen (all photos); National Trust; Melbury Osmond church
ST MARY . THORNCOMBE . DORSET
GRADE II ✣ Original dedication 1239; rebuilt 1867 perp. Dial re-sited. ‘The best brasses in Dorset’ (Pev.): full length, of Sir Thomas and Dame Joan Brook. A large church for a small village. Interesting (and at times somewhat lurid) history (see BLB). 6 miles SE of Chard. 50.8263 / 50°49’34″N . -2.8873 / 2°53’14″W . ST375033
LOCATION
During the rebuild it looks as if care was taken to re-site the dial more or less intact. However, an obscure place was chosen, low down on N wall of the aisle, semi-hidden by a buttress. The dial is weathered and faint – even with the field notes of GLP, it took me a while to find it.
DIAL
The dial has a near-complete circumference line (damaged at the top) and 4 radials, of which only one is readily visible. Its 90° reorientation and its secluded position renders it useless for its purpose.
Rotating a B&W image of the dial-stone 90° clockwise gives a sense of how – in its original position – it would have acted as a marker for the progress of the day, observance times etc. In its current location it serves merely as a curiosity for the completest dial-chaser.
GSS Category: Relocated dial; Rotated dial 90°; North-facing dial
Credits: Gordon Le Pard (GLP) for his exhaustive research of the scratch dials of Dorset
ST JOHN THE BAPTIST . RIPE
GRADE 1 ❖ C13 traces, mainly C14, C15. C19 restorations. Little information HE / BLB, but this link is informative https://sussexparishchurches.org/church/ripe-st-john-the-baptist/. One of a cluster of interesting churches in the area. 8 miles E of Lewes. 50.8684 / 0.15 / TQ513098
DIALS
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DIAL 1
The church is said to have 3 dials, though I could only find 2 definite ones. The first is very rough, with ?2 lines dropping down from a plugged hole, and some scrapes around the area. It’s hard to see how it marked the course of the day effectively. The hardness of the stone may explain it.
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DIAL 2
An intriguing dial in quadrant form, and cut on a shaped stone re-sited from elsewhere on the church. The images below show the dial as it is now, located URQ – the least effective location for marking the passage of today.
Two orientations could have worked: as a morning dial (LLQ) or an afternoon dial (RLQ). But then the stone would have needed to be recut…
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DIAL 3?
I did not find a definite 3rd dial, but on an adjacent stone to the others is one with a mix of holes. Two have faint lines / possible radials. If I had to choose one, it would be top left. Any helpful views welcome.
GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Lost Dial
All photos: Keith Salvesen
SAN VINCENZO FERERRI . RAGUSA . SICILY
The church was built by Dominican monks and dates to c1509. In 1693 it was largely destroyed by an earthquake. Rebuilding followed by later work and restorations followed. C20 saw a number of actual or intended improvements, encapsulated in one source as ‘underwent serious transformations… these interventions led to total abandonment of the church and also led to the collapse of the roof‘. The church is now deconsecrated and is used as a public auditorium.
DIAL
This splendid dial is on the W end wall of the church, a marker for the passage of the afternoon and evening. The location suggests that the most significant time for observance was in the latter part of the day. The hour lines are painted black; the equinox lines are red. The ‘grid’ includes an angled path from Leo to Gemini.
Credits: all photos except header, John Renner (with thanks for yet another fine Italian dial); enjoysicilia.it for helpful information about the church and its dial.
The Children’s Encyclopaedia was published between 1908 and 1964. It was an ambitious and popular learning resource devised by Arthur Mee. It covered a broad spectrum of topics that sparked interest in – and inspired – many youngsters during its long lifespan. This sundial involved some awareness of compass principles and of the passage of time in a readily understandable form. The material benefit for the young readers was a direct involvement with topics that an iPhone can help with without the underlying principles being known let alone understood. Some young enthusiast must have added compass points in the image below.
CREDIT: P. Delehar -The Children’s Encyclopaedia Sundial in cardboard
Science Museum Group © The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
GSS Category: Cardboard Sundial; Child’s Sundial Project; Sundial as educational tool
ST JAMES THE ELDER . HORTON . GLOS
GRADE I ❖ C12 origins; rebuilt C14; subsequent alterations C15/16; restoration 1865. Fine S porch with a splendid collection of carvings; interesting monuments within. On the Cotswold Way NE of Chipping Sodbury. 51°33’49″N 2°20’20″W ST766850
VERTICAL DIAL
This rather splendid dial, cut high on a buttress, is somewhat rustic for its exalted position. It faces SW, which explains why the lines radiate from a corner, rather than top centre or central to the dial stone. The randomness of the radials and the gaps between them suggests difficulty matching them with the positions of the roman numerals along the base and RHS of the dial.
BRITISH SUNDIAL SOCIETY RECORD 1998
GSS Category: Vertical Dial; Dial on Church
CREDIT: Martin May, with thanks for contacting me and for the excellent photos of this interesting dial
ST DEVEREUX / ST DUBRICIUS . HEREFS
GRADE II* ❖ C13 nave, C14 west tower and late C14 chancel; mid- to late C19 restorations. Very close to the famous early church at Kilpeck. St Dubricius has just one farm for company. If you are going to Kilpeck, this small church is worth a short visit on the way. 51.9766 / -2.8154 / SO440312
DIAL
The dial is within the porch to the right of the doorway. It is encircled. The whole left half is now very faint. The clear straight line RHS at 3 extends beyond the circumference, suggesting that mid-afternoon marked the significant time of the day. Above it, at 6, a scratched rustic ‘line’. Just below there’s a near-obliterated straight line. With some imagination, there may even be a trace (see close-up) of a noon line. At some stage a copper rod has been used as a gnomon, with the blue coloration spreading below.
I’d like to have discovered when the porch was added, but none of the main resources give this (not even ‘mentioned in Pevsner’).
GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Dial within Porch
Credits: All Photographs – Keith Salvesen
ST PETER . PETERCHURCH . HEREFS
Grade 1 ✣ Foundations date to AD 745; Saxon work visible in sanctuary. Substantially Norman, built mid-C12 as a 4-chambered basilica (cf Kilpeck nearby). C13 – 14 alterations, additions. Restorations from mid C19. Impressive fibre glass spire installed 1970s. It replaces the last of several spire dramas since the original of c1320 was completed (see HERE). Situated in the Golden Valley of Herefs. 52.0412 / -2.9564 / SO344385
DIALS
DIAL 1
RHS of Priest’s door. A morning dial with 5 lines, each with a terminal pock. The noon line – slightly offset – has a pock halfway down.
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DIAL 2 [and 3]
On a substantial buttress, a small dial so basic that I discounted it at first. The 2 lines do not even descend properly from the gnomon hole 3 ins above. The hole looks as though it has been enlarged at some time. I assume it predated and was succeeded by Dial 1.
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DIAGRAMS OF ALL DIALS INCLUDING DIAL 3*
Dial 2: the 2 short lines LHS are near-invisible now. I wonder if they were ever part of a dial.
Dial 3: this morning dial is close to Dial 2, but I missed it. It must be above the coping stone.
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HEREFORDSHIRE DIALS The county is well-served by the excellent small book (1988) by Richard & Catherine Botzum. It covers both scratch dials and conventional church dials, with a few church marks at the end. It is a pleasant read, the sort of book I’d have enjoyed writing.
GSS Category: scratch dial; mass dial; early sundial
Credit: Botzum ‘Herefordshire Scratch & Sundials’
POSTED TO BE REVISED
ST MARGARET . MIDDLE CHINNOCK . SOMERSET
GRADE II* ♰ C12 origins with fine Norman arch and tympanum within the early C14 S porch; other early remnants. C14/C15 tower. Subsequent development and restorations; several phases of rebuilding C19. Of note: unusual sundial at the apex of the porch. This will be written up separately. There’s a charming calligraphed guide to the church on which, amongst the highlights, 2 scratch dials are mentioned. Roughly halfway between Yeovil and Crewkerne, on strangely-named Poop Hill. 50.9152 / -2.7523 / ST472131
DIALS
The dials are close together on the E side of the porch. They are plain holes without other visible dial-ish features or adornment – very much in the ‘doubtful’ category. Of note is that Dom Ethelbert Horne, during his exhaustive survey of all Somerset churches in early C20, did not include St Margaret in his records. However, the written church record suggests that scratch dial status was conferred some way into the past, rather than being a recent idea.
The likelihood of 2 dials in one small area, consisting only of a hole with not even a noon line between them, is pretty small. A very simple early dial might be superseded by a separate, more complex one in the fulness of time – sometimes on an adjacent stone. I’m not convinced by this pair. Probably I should find out what the church record reveals.
UPPER DIAL
LOWER DIAL
THE DIAL OVER THE PORCH WILL BE DEALT WITH SEPARATELY
GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Gnomon Holes
All photographs: Keith Salvesen
GAUDIUM SUB SOLE . SUNDIALS . MEDIEVAL TO MODERN 