Rolling Harbour

SPETISBURY . DORSET . ST JOHN THE BAPTIST – TWO SCRATCH DIALS (?)

Published on October 26, 2024January 10, 2026 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

Spetisbury Church as drawn by Thomas Rackett for the 2^nd edition of Hutchings’ History of Dorset

ST JOHN THE BAPTIST . SPETISBURY . DORSET

GRADE 1 ✣ Late C12 / early C13 origins; west tower late C15 / early C16. Major mid C19 restorations from 1858 by T H Wyatt, and later works. 3m SE of Blandford Forum. 50.8258 / -2.13 / ST909029

TWO PROXIMATE DIAL-LIKE DESIGNS

The two incised stones are located either side of the drainpipe on S wall of the chancel. Both have 8 segments (as with a Saxon / Tide Dial). A gnomon hole is conspicuously absent from both. There’s no trace of filling. There are one or two pocks on each, but random and with no specific relation to the overall designs.

GLP in his comprehensive survey of Dorset church scratch dials concluded that the dials “…are just graffiti of unknown date”. He explains that he has included these near-matching designs since otherwise “they might be mistaken for genuine dials”.

Apotropaic symbols? These don’t conform to any mainstream style of protection mark. And they are not in a location that Evil would naturally choose to gain entry.

My own theory is that these 2 designs were scratched on adjacent dark stones during the lengthy C19 restoration period. Perhaps there was a small competition between 2 apprentice masons engaged on the work, or bored by it.

DIAL 1

The cruder of the two, with bent lines and an awkwardly gouged curving ‘noon line’.

DIAL 2

More carefully designed and executed than Dial 1, and with the hint of circle round it.

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Church Graffiti circular pattern; False scratch dials

All photos: Keith Salvesen; Rackett print OS

PADUA . PALAZZO DELLA RAGIONE . SPECTACULAR SUNDIAL

Published on October 21, 2024October 21, 2024 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

PADUA . PALAZZO DELLA RAGIONE . SUNDIAL

A confident and assertive sundial to match the glory and prosperity of the city. The lines divide the hours from VIII to IV into quarters. Each has an arrowhead, with (?unusually) reversal of the ‘minor quarter’ arrows.

GNOMON

At first glance you may wonder why there’s just a dark splodge where one might hope to see a gnomon. It is the gnomon. In researching the dial I came across a really helpful photo by Richard Mortel* that reveals the gnomon to be the ‘pin-hole’ type, the effectiveness of which is clearly shown.

Padua . Palazzo della Ragione . Sundial Pinhole . Richard Mortel

The upper half of the dial has an angled line across the whole dial, leading from an indeterminate animal (in fact a sheep) to a set of scales: Aries and Libra in opposition (Note: this Zodiacal conjunction should not be investigated, for fear of unwanted advice about who you should be dating).

There is an additional aspect to this dial that I am currently researching. First of all I have to clear use permission, but I hope to add to write again soon about this splendid dial. The clue is ‘Meridian’.

Credits: John Renner for his excellent photos of this fantastic sundial taken recently; *Richard Mortel for his clear illustrative photo of the gnomon taken a while back (with apologies if I have wrongly taken it as CC / OS)

TARRANT CRAWFORD . DORSET . ST MARY – Scratch Dial

Published on October 18, 2024October 26, 2024 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

ST MARY . TARRANT CRAWFORD . DORSET

LISTING Grade I ✣ C12 origins with abbey links; C12 chancel; C13 nave and refenestration, porch; C15, tower. An astonishing church beyond the scope of this project. Besides the building itself, there are wonderful early C14 wall paintings to admire, also C16 wagon roof & C13 coffin lids. Major restoration in 1911. A very unspoilt church retaining many medieval features PEV. In the care of CCT. 5m SE of Blandford Forum 50.8307 / -2.1107 / ST922034

DIAL

A number of features make this dial rather special. It is inside an intriguing church; it is cut into the architrave of a (historically) relocated doorway; and the design is endearingly haphazard. There are 5 radials from the gnomon hole, mainly LLQ from (roughly) Terce to just past midday. The lines are uneven in length, depth, spacing and straightness ,not least because of the oddly squarish perimeter. One can’t tell what lies behind the cement repair, but it doesn’t seem that the perimeter continues beyond what one can see.

APOTROPAIC CIRCLES

There are two circles cut into one of the window jamb, the lowest with a dot in the centre. These are a simple form of protection symbol, repelling evil and preventing it from entering the church. Some theorise that these and more complex designs (eg ‘daisy wheels’) trapped evil within the circle – so-called demon traps.

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Protection Mark, Apotropaic Symbol

All photos: Keith Salvesen

GILLINGHAM MUSEUM . DORSET – Scratch Dial cut into Anglo-Saxon Cross

Published on October 9, 2024 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

GILLINGHAM in Dorset has a well-curated Museum spanning prehistory to our lifetime. The many and varied displays include a very special one, a handsome carved fragment of an Anglo-Saxon standing cross. Below are images of all four sides of this wonderful stone. It is enhanced by the later addition of an early dial – a Tide dial.

TIDE DIAL

The dial has a complete horizontal (‘6-to-6’) line, an emphatic noon line, and a short deep line corresponding to the canonical Terce, marking the significant part of the day for observance. An arc of circumference is below; there is no hint of a complete circle.

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MUSEUM INFORMATION SHEET

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DIAL TWO?

Above right on the stone is a smaller hole with (from some angles) 3 very faint lines radiating from it. Very doubtful, but mentioned for completeness. Possibly an imitative attempt by a bored sacristan.

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THE OTHER THREE SIDES

Gillingham Museum, where the stone is on loan from the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Gillingham.

stmaryssaxoncrossfragmentconditionreportfinal8800 Download

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Dr John Shepherd: Shephard J F (2023) – Carved fragment from an Anglo-Saxon standing cross and the arrival of Christianity in Gillingham in Annual Report and Review, Dorset Historic Churches Trust 18, 6-7.

David Lloyd – Gillingham Local History Society

Images courtesy Tom Wickson (Dorset Historic Churches Trust)

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TARRANT RUSHTON . DORSET . ST MARY – Scratch Dial

Published on October 2, 2024October 3, 2024 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

ST MARY . TARRANT RUSHTON . DORSET

LISTING II* ✣ Early C12 origin; nave extended late C12; early C14 chancel,
transepts, squat tower; C15 porch; C19 north vestry and restoration. 3 squints (‘hagioscopes’, as I have recently discovered). 4m E of Blandford forum, nestled in a valley with several other Tarrants. 50.854 / -2.0902 / ST937060

DIAL

An attractively simple dial set in flint, perhaps not its original location. There are 6 lines LHS from the horizontal (6) down to to 11. Two are very faint. A morning dial, with 2 slightly deeper cut / longer lines suggesting Nones as the main time for observation. The absence of an obvious gnomon hole – open or filled – is a puzzle. There is a slightly paler area where the radials converge, perhaps marking the site of a gnomon hole filled centuries ago, now worn to a smooth patch

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Medieval Sundial Dorset

All photos: Keith Salvesen

OMONVILLE-la-PETITE . COTENTIN . SAINT-MARTIN – Vertical Dial

Published on September 28, 2024September 29, 2024 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

SAINT MARTIN . OMANVILLE-la-PETIT . CONTENTIN

An attractive vertical dial, accurately angled, with Arabic numerals. Semi-circle perimeter and round top gnomon stay. There’s a slight jeux d’ésprit feel to the gnomon. There was no sun on the dial when we visited: I wondered how well it would work in practice.

GSS Category: Vertical Dial; Church Sundial France; Ornamental Gnomon

All photos: Keith Salvesen

WIMBLEDON (SW London) . Fitness Centre . Modern Dial by Christopher St.J.H. Daniel

Published on September 22, 2024 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

WIMBLEDON . FITNESS CENTRE . MODERN DIAL 1996

Christopher St.J.H. Daniel MBE, the maker of this dial, was the pre-eminent and most prolific sundial designer of the modern era. With 3 others, he was a founder member of the British Sundial Society BSS. He died in 2022, leaving a rich legacy of erudition and skill within his specialised sphere and beyond. His sundial book, published by Shire, is an excellent place to learn about sundials and their continuing relevance in a somewhat esoteric field.

WICKENBY . LINCS . ST PETER & ST LAWRENCE – Scratch Dial

Published on September 17, 2024 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

ST PETER & ST LAWRENCE . WICKENBY . LINCS

LISTING: II* . C12, C13 (of which remnants); C14, C15, 1868 restoration by G. G. Scott. C14 door. Good C14 stained glass. 53.3234 / -0.368 / TF088819

DIAL

Located within later porch, LHS of entrance door. 7 clear lines; probably one upper LHS, very faint. Deep gnomon hole. Noon line perhaps marked with a pock 2″ below? Of interest, the 2 deeper and longer cut lines LHS of the vertical. These suggest that the main time of day for observance was Terce, or (as cut) somewhere between that and midday.

Unrecorded by BSS. I am grateful to Keith Freeman for contacting me about this dial, and for his excellent photos

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Scratch Dial within porch

All photos: Keith Freeman, with thanks

JARDIN PRÉVERT . COTENTIN . MANCHE – Armillary Sphere

Published on September 12, 2024 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

JARDIN DE PRÉVERT . COTENTIN . MANCHE

This idiosyncratic garden is close to Port Racine in the NW corner of the Cotentin peninsular, in the Vallée des Moulins. There is a tumbling stream that at one time flowed past more than a dozen mills, of which some ruins remain. The garden was created in homage to the poet and screen-writer Jacques Prévert. After his death (1977), trees were planted by his wife, Yves Montand, Juliette Gréco, and Picasso among others, a quality tribute to his artistic achievements.

Amid the peaceful woodland bordering the stream are artfully twisting paths. These reveal clusters of metalwork sculptures, inscribed poems hanging from trees, and plenty of somewhat surreal creations. In amongst the foliage I spotted this sphere. Enjoy the poem.

An orange on the table
Your dress on the rug
And you in my bed
Sweet gift of the present
Freshness of the night
Warmth of my life

GSS Category: Armillary Sphere; Sundial Art

All photos Keith Salvesen except JT (os)

BIVILLE . MANCHE . SAINT-PIERRE – Vertical Dial

Published on September 8, 2024September 16, 2024 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

SAINT-PIERRE . BIVILLE . MANCHE

C13 origins. By C19 the church had become a place of pilgrimage for one Thomas Hélye, whose remains are rather eerily displayed in a case in the nave. In due course, the church needed to expand to accommodate pilgrims and the work was eventually completed in the 1920s.

DIAL

The dial is located on the second stage of the tower, in a position and at a height to record the passage of the day for all to see. The dial (date uncertain) with its Arabic numerals is large enough to mark 1/4 hours. It is canted for accuracy. The gnomon, unusually, is formed from two separate bent rods that (see large image below) have been carefully sited to cast the shadow.