Rolling Harbour

MUSÉE de CLUNY . PARIS – Cadran Solaire 1674: Nil Sine Nobis

Published on April 11, 2023April 13, 2023 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

The collection of the National Museum of the Middle Ages is housed in a wonderful building, at one time an abbatiale. There is some debate about the dates of the origins and the building of the Hôtel; and of later rebuilding / restoration. The large sundial on the south wall of the courtyard is dated 1674. This was the reign of the Sun King (1643 – 1715), and a sun with its rays was an obviously fitting theme for the times.

DIAL

The lines on the dial face are carefully graduated and the hours marked with Arabic numerals. Several lines terminate in arrows, suggesting a busy schedule of mainly forenoon masses.

MOTTO

NIL SINE NOBIS. A. B. F. 1674.

The inscription is usually translated as Nothing [Exists] Without Us. Margaret Gatty (1809-18730, in her comprehensive work The Book of Sun-Dials, gave the Cluny dial an unusually detailed entry:

802.

NIL SINE NOBIS. A. B. F. 1674. Nothing exists without us.

A dial on the wall of a courtyard on the south side of the Hôtel Cluny, Paris, had this inscription. The word nobis referred to the rays of the sun which were represented on its face. The Hôtel Cluny, a very beautiful specimen of rather elaborate fourteenth century Gothic architecture, was bought in 1625 for the abbess and nuns of Port Royal, and was known as Port Royal de Paris. It was re-established by Louis XIV. in 1665, on a fresh basis, and was looked upon as schismatic by the community of Port Royal des Champs. This dial must have been erected in the time of the first abbess of the new foundation, Sœur Dorothée Perdreau, who held office till 1684.

Cluny Museum and its sundial: detailed entry by Margaret Gatty

SCALLOP SHELLS and HERALDIC MOTTOS

The scallop shells are interwoven with two inscriptions (or possibly a single one in two parts) which deserve a mention as part of the overall design. The shells themselves evidence an ancient Pilgrimage route that passed close by – the long Rue St Jacques is a few meters to the North.

The heraldic mottos are said to read, firstly: Servire Deo Regnare Est – To Serve God Is To Reign; MG suggests, without much conviction, that the other (or part of it) may be as shown below.

With very rusty Latin and a bit of internet work, I can’t make either interpretation fit the scrolls we can see. Possibly they relate to a different part of the Musée, and the shell one(s) are different. I’ll have to leave the reader to try to puzzle this out (all suggestions welcome).

GSS Category: Early Sundial / Vertical Dial; French Sundial; Sundial Motto

Credits: all photos Keith Salvesen – please seek use permission for these detailed ones; Musée Cluny for the Unicorn

NORTH CADBURY . SOM . ST MICHAEL – Scratch Dials

Published on March 18, 2023March 18, 2023 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

GRADE I † Mainly early C15, some older fragments; later restorations. A huge church for a small village. Simon Jenkins awards it ** and with good reason. Wonderful bench ends, not to be missed. See BLB for more. Midway between Wincanton and Ilchester. 51.0417 / -2.5214 / ST635270

DIALS

DEH visited in April 1914 and recorded 3 dials, all on S facing buttresses, one close to the priest’s door. They are very eroded. There are possible remnants of 2 further dials, mentioned below.

DIAL 1

St Michael . North Cadbury . Som. – Scratch Dial

DEH 169. (1) This dial is on the first buttress w. of the s. porch. It is 5 feet above the ground, the noon line is 4 inches in length, the stylehole is 5/8 of an inch in depth by 1/2 an inch in diameter, and the aspect is s. by 15° e.

Located on the buttress W of S porch. An obvious style hole with a semicircle (6 – 6) of unobtrusive small pocks. Photography has its limitations and St Michael tested them. Records mention 13 to 16 pocks. One can just make out the faintest of traces of lines at noon and 2.

BSS suggests a possible dial immediately above. Assuming a style hole in the mortar line, there are a few pocks in the immediate area, but rather disorganised. Doubtful rather than plausible.

DIAL 2

DEH 170. (2) This dial is on the first buttress E. of the s. porch. It is 4 feet 10 inches above the ground, the noon line is 3 inches in length, the style hole is about 11/2 inches in depth by 3/4 of an inch in diameter. The aspect is s. by 15° e.

As with Dial 1, very eroded and with little visible detail even when one is quite close. There are 8 detectable lines with a perimeter of pocks, probably (BSS) 13 with extra pocks at 8.30 and 10.30 – presumably Mass indicators.

DIAL 3

DEH 171. (3) This dial is on a buttress e. of the priest’s door. It is 5 feet 8 inches above the ground, the noon line is 4 1/4 inches in length, the style hole is 7/8 of an inch in depth and 1/2 an inch in diameter, and the aspect is s. by 15° e.

Situated on S side of the chancel, on the buttress E of the Priests’ door. There are 13 lines and a full complement of 24 pocks. The line angles are at approx 15º intervals. BSS notes a possible ‘tiny dial’ above it.

MEDIEVAL GRAFFITI

The porch contains the original stone benches on either side. These are often troves of graffiti, in particular apotropaic symbols and other ritual protection marks designed to repel evil or to prevent its entering the church. These signs are quite common to find in other locations both outside and inside a church (see HERE). However, in many churches, stone benches were replaced in succeeding centuries. St Michael has retained the benches, on which there are excellent examples of marks that are relatively rare. There are hands here, and a medieval swastika (a Sanskrit word) from several centuries before its more recent symbolic adoption. It incorporates a repelling circle mark, where evil may be captured within its continuous circumference.

GSS Category: Scratch Dials; Mass Dials; Bench Ends; Medieval Graffiti; Apotropaic Symbols

All photos: Keith Salvesen

BASILICA di SANTA MARIA NOVELLA . FLORENCE – MERIDIAN DIAL

Published on March 13, 2023 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

Santa Maria Novella, one of the most sublime churches in Tuscany, needs no general introduction. The Wiki article SMV gives a very good overview. The focus of this article is on the amazing meridian dial inside the church itself.

First, I should mention the 2 famous dials on the facade, the subject of much interest, investigation, and analysis including detailed articles by BSS. I plan to feature both separately in due course. On the left is an armillary sphere; on the right is an astronomical quadrant. They are the work of Egnatzio Danti, astronomer to Cosimo I, and were installed c1570.

*Armillary Sphere & Astronomical Quadrant on the Facade (Egnazio Danti c1570)* *cc os*

The Museo Galileo has a comprehensive website here MG and is a superb resource for historical science. Exhibits include 2 of Galileo’s telescopes. In 2007 it held a remarkable dial-based exhibition called The Line of the Sun. The entry for SMN includes all 3 dials and gives a succinct account of their creation and significance. I am adapting / adopting some entries from the museum’s explanations.

MERIDIAN DIAL

Background: Between 1572 and 1575, the cosmographer Egnazio Danti (1536-1586) installed on the façade of Santa Maria Novella no less than three astronomical instruments: a great quadrant with sundials; an equinoctial armillary; and two ‘camera obscura gnomons’. These instruments were designed to be used for new astronomical calculations linked to the project for reforming the Julian calendar…

Meridian Dial: Although Danti designed the dials he was unable to complete the tracing of the meridian line on the floor of the church. He only opened gnomonic holes, first in the glass of the rose window, then on the church’s façade, much higher, and made two openings in the vaulting as well, through which rays of light would pass only during the equinoxes and the winter solstice.

Operation: The entrance of the sunbeam was through the two gnomonic holes. The pinhole on the rose-window would have allowed [the measurement of] time during the entire year. The pinhole on the façade would have allowed the same reading only in the days of the equinoxes and of the winter solstice (IMSS Multimedia Laboratory).

FACADE POSITIONS

Gnomon holes on the facade in the rose window (70′ high) and just below the pediment

MERIDIAN DIAL IN DETAIL

Basilica of Santa Maria Novella . Firenze . Meridian Dial – Keith Salvesen

REFERENCES / CREDITS

MUSEO GALILEO

Wiki cc – header image / close-up

‘photo tsettle’ – gnomon hole positions

All dial photos – Keith Salvesen

COOMBE BISSETT . WILTS . ST MICHAEL & ALL ANGELS – Scratch Dials

Published on March 8, 2023March 21, 2023 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

ST MICHAEL & ALL ANGELS . COOMBE BISSETT . WILTS

GRADE 1 † C12 south aisle, 2 Norman arches; C13 chancel; C14 tower; C15 nave & north transept. Restoration 1845 by T. H. Wyatt. Early (C12?) font carved from a single piece of Jurassic limestone. One of several fine Chalke Valley churches situated south of the A30 between Shaftesbury and Salisbury. It’s an attractive long cut between the two. 51.0361 / -1.8473 / SU108263

DIALS

On the S-facing central buttress of the tower there are two adjacent scratch dials on the same stone that merge. It isn’t immediately clear (to me) which came first. Whichever, presumably the time came as the church developed when more accuracy in marking the day’s passage was required.

BSS references a 3rd dial on S wall. Other records mention two scratch dials and one sundial on south side. See below for an attempt to ID the sundial.

DIALS 1 (L) & 2 (R)

Coombe Bissett . Wilts . St Michael – Scratch Dials

Dial 1 is recorded as: Irregular dial with 15° lines in both quadrants.

Dial 2 is noted as: Cannot be classified. Eroded, damaged. Mass or line deeply cut.

My visit was early evening, and the quality of the detail in my photos is unimpressive (see above). For example, there is only the hint of the part-circle of Dial 2. Fortunately, this is a church that another dial collector has visited and later he uploaded his photos to BHO / Disqus. Mark Wolstenholme’s excellent images give a much clearer and sharper view of the details of both dials and their intersection.

DIAL 3 (?)

Another dial is recorded as being on the tower, S wall, a short distance W of the ‘dial buttress’ above. The description states Early Christian ‘Tombstone’ dial. Accurately cut or made. Modern replacement. I found this baffling, and the only conceivable candidate I could find in the area may or may not fit the bill. Somehow I doubt it. Suggestions of its purpose would be welcome…

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial

Photos: Keith Salvesen; special thanks to Mark Wolstonholme who uploaded his detailed photos to the BHO site os and to Disqus os

KIMPTON . HANTS . ST PETER & ST PAUL – Scratch Dials

Published on March 5, 2023 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

ST PETER & ST PAUL . KIMPTON . HANTS

GRADE I † C13, C14, C15, C18; C19 works & restorations. Cruciform, with a south aisle to the nave, south porch, and western tower. Single cell nave and chancel of c1220. Blocked north door in the nave. Unusual C19 2-stage tower is pleasingly incongruous. 6m W of Andover, just N of the dread A303. 51.2181 / -1.5988 / SU281466

DIALS

BSS records from 2013 are based on a survey in 1995 which mentioned 2 dials quite close to each other on SE angle of S transept. For both dials BSS notes: Known only from reference. No other details. No longer extant.

ARG made the original record on his visit in July 1925, noting one dial and a doubtful one, both on the SE angle of S transept. His descriptions are as follows:

DIAL 1. On the large quoin on SE angle of S transept... late C14. He described it as an imperfect dial, with some lines LLQ, 4 of which ended in pocks; and some pocks LRQ with 2 lines extending beyond them.

DIAL 2. Noted as close-by and slightly doubtful, with a very small style hole and perhaps 3 lines on the lower half.

I found nothing to match ARG’s descriptions but I did find a plausible and a doubtful dial in the same general area.

DIAL 1

This stone doesn’t match the others in the immediate vicinity, and gives the distinct impression that it has been relocated and probably resized to fit. I think it plausible to claim this as a crude and eroded dial with traces of stubby lines in the noon area. It looked quite convincing on the day. Possibly it was relocated to a more prominent position, whether as a working dial or perhaps as a decorative quirk.

DIALS 1 & 2 – LOCATION

St Peter and St Paul. Kimpton . Hants – Two adjacent scratch dials. Possibly.

DIAL 2

This design is on a long stone close to Dial 1. Image 1 shows the stone as it is, horizontal. The 4 graduated dents caught my eye, being clearly created for a reason. There’s a slight curve to them; and a patch of cement that may (as elsewhere) fill a gnomon hole. Also – revealed in close-up – there is undeniably a deliberate thin straight line that comes directly from the hole (if it is / was one).

Rotating a photo of a dial can be useful in interpreting it (Images 2 & 3). A 90º turn here reveals a slightly more meaningful dial design. That said, to work as a dial stone, the long horizontal block would have had to be relocated from a place where it was vertical.

St Peter & St Paul . Kimpton . Hants – print (BHO)

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Medieval Sundial

All photos: Keith Salvesen

BINSEY . OXFORD . ST MARGARET of ANTIOCH – 2 Scratch Dials

Published on March 2, 2023March 2, 2023 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

ST MARGARET of ANTIOCH . BINSEY . OXFORD

GRADE I † C12 origins on site of Saxon church; c13 rebuilding (chancel, nave), S porch added; C15 & later restorations (latest in 1936). Unheated and candlelit until 1975. Much of interest – remarkably secluded location, a Holy well, a direct link with Alice in Wonderland, an excellent riverside pub. Within ring road W of Oxford, N of Botley Road, at the end of a mile of narrow lane. Check a map before you go… 51.7691 / 1.2976 / SP485080

❖ The clearest illustrated article about St Margaret, its history, and its significance can be found at David Ross’s excellent BRITAIN EXPRESS. This includes the sad story of the celibate St Frideswide (C7), Patron Saint of Oxford and a roundabout system, & her suitor Algar. It also covers the origins of the Holy well, its healing powers and its link to Alice’s ‘treacle well’. An informed tour of the church ends with helpful directions to it.

DIALS

DIAL 1

On the quoin RHS of the porch entrance, with a large slightly recessed gnomon hole. A morning dial, very eroded in the 3 other quadrants. Originally encircled (BSS)? The visible evidence of a complete circle is scant. 8 lines, some extending over split stone. The noon line is emphasised – longer and deeper cut. A hint of double pocks at lower end – just possibly a dotted cross ✣?

DIAL 2

Located on the nave buttress adjoining the chancel. 4 lines radiating from a central hole in the dial stone, one slightly curved; 7 clear pocks all on or at the end of the lines. Unlike dial 1, there is no exact vertical line. The puzzle is to identify the noon line. On some dials, there is a notional noon line formed by a narrow gap between 2 near-vertical lines – not the case here. Presumably it is line 2, being extended and having 2 pocks. Line 3 is too flimsy for the task. Line 1 presumably marks a service time between Terce and noon.

ST MARGARET’S WELL

GRAFFITI ANCIENT & MODERN

There is a certain amount of graffiti in the porch, some of which is not medieval. Included are initials, 2 (unconvincing?) inverted Marian marks; and some scratchings of hard-to-decipher script, something I haven’t often seen.

After your visit you may need refreshment: I recommend the excellent nearby PERCH INN

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Medieval Graffiti

All photos: Keith Salvesen

COWLEY . OXON . ST JAMES THE APOSTLE – Scratch Dials

Published on February 27, 2023February 28, 2023 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

St James . Cowley . Oxford (Parish Website – link below)

GRADE II* † Mid C12 – C15; early frescoes; 1860s work by G.E. Street with additions & rebuilding. Remarkably squat tower, C15. Unexpectedly up a secluded narrow lane just E of the bustle of Cowley – no one would guess that there is a C12 building there. 51.7306 / -1.2197 / SP539038

DIALS

There are 2 dials, both inside the porch on either side of the entrance door. Disappointingly the porch gate was locked, so I could not get access. The photos of the pair taken late in the day are distinctly underwhelming…

DIAL 1

Dial 1 is inside S porch LHS of the doorway, in the corner below the springing of the arch and above the moulding. 4 lines radiating from the style hole, with the noon line deeper cut.

DIAL 2

Dial 2 is also inside S porch, RHS of the doorway and above the capital of the pillar. There are 6 lines radiating from a quite noticeable style hole. BSS suggests there are 3 pocks (possibly more), though I could not see those details.

OTHER MARKS

Besides the dials, there was a certain amount of graffiti with other scratchings in the area of the porch, not all of it medieval. There are a couple of Marian marks and what may be a very crude pentagram, a symbol to repel evil.

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial

All photos (for what they are worth) Keith Salvesen except header image from St James Parish website (their excellent photo replaces my poor ones taken from a different angle); and BSS (2 images)

STRATTON-ON-THE -FOSSE . SOMERSET . ST VIGOR – 3 Scratch Dials

Published on February 22, 2023 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

GRADE 1 † C12 origins; mainly C14; much rebuilt C15/C16; further rebuilding late C18; restoration C19. One of only two churches with this Dedication (Fulbourne Cambs is the other). A pleasing and unpretentious church. Very close to Downside Abbey/. 51.2552 / -2.4896 / ST659507

DIALS

Downside Abbey was home to Dom Ethelbert Horne, the pioneer dial collector and analyst who covered Somerset with skill and determination, using a motorcycle to get around. He began the project in 1913, and recorded the dials at St Vigor on Nov 3 – perhaps they were his first finds. His book with its careful explanations is a vade mecum for any dial enthusiast (even one with no connection with the County).

DIAL 1

Dial 1 is located at SW corner of the nave, high up (7′) on a quoin stone. DEH noted The Mass line in this dial is sharp and distinct, and made at a different time from the other lines. He makes no comment on the design. There are 6 lines each with a terminal pock, with hints of a couple more. DEH makes no mention of a gnomon, but with his usual thoroughness measured the depth of the hole. It is certain, therefore, that the existing (copper?) rod was inserted relatively recently.

DIAL 2

Dial 2 is on the buttress between S porch and E end of the nave. DEH commented: Encircled. No hour lines can be seen on this ancient and badly worn dial. the remains of 2 circles close apart. Were it not for the noticeable gnomon hole, it would be easy to pass this one by.

DIAL 3

To be found on the W side of the entrance to S porch, 3′ 3″ high. Or so noted DEH very specifically. He mentions a style hole and a noon line 3½” long, but I spent some time examining this area and indeed the corresponding position on E side of the doorway (because field notes are occasionally confused), with no convincing dial identifiable. Here are photographs of the location, for what they are worth…

DEDICATION

In C6 there was a ‘hermit preacher’ and Christian missionary who became Bishop of Bayeux. He died c537 AD and was canonized as St Vigor (Lat.) or in due course Saint Vigeur (Fr.). The Norman conquest brought his followers to England and his name first appears in an eleventh-century breviary at Worcester.

Another account is that in the early C12, manorial rights for Stratton passed to a Norman family who came from Saint-Vigor-le-Grand, Normandy.

ST VIGOR IN FRESCO

Frescoes at the Churches of St Vigor Ste Suzanne Les Coevrons, and St Vigor de Neau cc / os / tourisme

GSS Category: Scratch Dials

All photos Keith Salvesen; St Vigor as credited; source material Bath Record Office, Wiki

BRYMPTON d’EVERCY . SOM . Cube Dial with Ball Finial

Published on February 20, 2023February 21, 2023 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

BRYMPTON d’EVERCY . SOMERSET . CUBE DIAL with BALL FINIAL

Brympton d’Evercy is a fine Somerset country house with a long history of intertwined families down the ages. For more on the house & grounds, see HERE. The chapel of St Andrew has scratch dials that are featured HERE. The estate is a mere 2m W of the clatter of Yeovil yet hidden away in its own parkland, and best reached by map reading, satnav or luck. 50.9361 / -2.6847 / ST519154

CUBE DIAL (GVII)

The long (75m) balustraded south terrace looks out over parkland with a small lake. The dial dates to mid-C19, probably added ± 1860 as part of the design for the terrace building project. If the dial is older, it must have been relocated. HE describes the ashlar retaining wall with chamfered plinth, capped with a stone balustrade with intermediate piers on which are set a variety of urns and other ornaments, and in the centre of the long western section a block sundial with ball finial, on which is inscribed LAT 50-56, 17.30, having sheet metal gnomons, 2 of which are broken. The 4 gnomons are shown together further down this page.

SOUTH

The motto on the S face of the dial reads PEREUNT ET IMPUTANTUR, which Gatty gives as ‘they perish and are reckoned’. Its original form as a Martial epigram directly references the sun’s involvement in this process.

WEST

NORTH

EAST

GNOMONS

THE BOOK OF SUN-DIALS . MRS ALFRED GATTY . MDCCC

GSS Category: Cube Dial; Multiple Dial

All photos: Keith Salvesen

CHISBURY CHAPEL . WILTS . ST MARTIN – Consecration Cross, Graffiti & Protection Marks

Published on February 15, 2023 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

CHISBURY CHAPEL . WILTS

C13 chapel located within an Iron-age hill fort Chisbury Camp. The Lord of the Manor built it to assert his social status by allowing the household of the manor, as well as local people, to attend services and pay their taxes without having to travel to the parish church at Great Bedwyn EH. Thatched, with flint walls. The chapel was deconsecrated in 1547 and after three centuries of use as a barn it was reduced to its present dilapidated state. It is however a scheduled Ancient Monument, now in the care of English Heritage.

CONSECRATION CROSS

GRAFFITI & MARIAN MARKS (VV)

There was no scratch dial and I wasn’t expecting to find one. However the chapel is interesting enough to merit inclusion, not least because consercation crosses and church marks generally are catered for in this project.

1. shows a (possible? probable?) Fleur de Lys with G Bedwyn scrawled below – 2. is one form of protection mark – 3. enclosed initials – 4. Marian mark VV – 5. ‘scratchings’ – 6. Marian mark VV and a design with a heart that I initially thought must make it recent… However the form of the W (similar to a Marian mark) is from a much earlier time, as is the date (if it is one) in Roman numerals. I can’t decipher it beyond ..15