Cambridge Sundial – GAUDIUM SUB SOLE . SUNDIALS . MEDIEVAL TO MODERN

ELY CATHEDRAL . CAMBRIDGESHIRE

Published on December 14, 2025December 15, 2025 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

The Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely

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This project does not generally cover in detail the actual buildings on or near which dials are to be found. My header photo of the ethereal Octagon of the Cathedral will have to stand for the wonder of it all. The focus here is on the excellent vertical dial, high up and very legible, on the south-facing wall of the South Transept.

The earliest reference suggests that the original dial dates from 1690 when a Mr Rider was paid £10 for making it. The fine dial we see today was installed in 1963, replacing an old dial (not necessarily the original).

The new dial is worthy of the magnificent cathedral that it adorns. The radials are interspersed with half-hour marker crosses (possibly fleurs de lys). The roman numerals are arranged from 7 to 9 LHS; 10 to 2 along the base; 3 angled at the corner RHQ; and 4 (IIII) to 6 RHS. The signs of the Zodiac are painted on both sides of the dial, in a configuration that I don’t quite understand. The gnomon is a long slim metal rod emerging from a sun-blaze of 16 flames, supported by 2 similar rods.

MOTTO

ΚΑΙΡΟΝ ΓΝΩΘ

The meaning is variously given as Know the Season; Know the Time; Choose a Timely Moment; or a similar exhortation. The motto seems to be rare: found on a dial at Selwyn College Cambridge and at a University Library in Pennsylvania but I can’t find other locations.

Cultivate truth, good faith, experience, cleverness, sociability, and industry

The rather imprecise motto meanings can be traced to the era of Delphic aphorisms c500 BC. Some adorned Temples, and familiar to us are Know thyself, Nothing in excess and Give a pledge and trouble is at hand. My favourite (which I already observe) is Whatever you rebuke your neighbour for, do not do it yourself.

KING’S COLLEGE . CAMBRIDGE – Vertical Dial

Published on November 29, 2025 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

CHAPEL DIAL

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King’s College is one of the best-known Cambridge colleges, not least because of its pre-eminent choral music tradition. This fine dial is on the right side of the Chapel porch. The hour lines and numerals are painted in black directly onto the stone. The gnomon emerges through a golden sunburst, matched by two gold heraldic lions in the lower corners. The dial itself dates to 1733 (BSS) and the inscription J.C. 1578 on the face is a mystery: no specific association has been matched to it.

RESTORATION

As I researched this dial it soon became clear that it had undergone considerable recent restoration. The Brookes / Stanier booklet (L) was published c2000, with this illustration. The BSS entry (R) was made in 2007, and the dial’s condition seems to have worsened. At some stage I hope to find out more.

UT HORA SIC FUGIT VITA

The black-letter motto translates as ‘Life flies away like an hour‘ or an equivalent sentiment. There are a number of Latin variations of this rather gloomy prognostication.

King’s has a second short dial – the SORELY dial – close to the Chapel. I will add a link once I have written it up.

GSS Category: Vertical Dial; University Dial; Sundial Motto

All photos: Keith Salvesen; BSS; Brooks / Stanier ‘Cambridge Sundials’

TRINITY COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE . HORIZONTAL SUNDIAL

Published on January 16, 2024January 24, 2024 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

Trinity College Cambridge . Sundial – view from Master’s Lodge to Great Gate (Keith Salvesen)

TRINITY COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE . GREAT COURT

THE TALE OF TWO DIALS

GRADE II ✣ 1704, dial renewed in 1795 by Edward Troughton of London. Simple stone baluster with moulded base and cap, set on 2 steps. RCHM.

The fine C18 horizontal sundial in Great Court has a long history, and an intriguing twist in its story. Over a period of 3 years I must have walked past or near it thousands of times without giving it a glance. The passage of the day was marked by the chimes of the famous clock, a sound that stays with me even today.

Trinity College Cambridge . Sundial – view towards the Master’s Lodge (Keith Salvesen)

BSS notes that the dial is showing its age to some degree. This rather weathered dial is nevertheless pleasing, equipped as it is with a sturdily elegant gnomon and some nice decorative fleurs de lys marking the half hours between its Roman numerals. The central compass has floral infill and there are Equation of Time rings running anti-clockwise which indicate whether a watch would be faster or slower than the dial.

Trinity College Cambridge . Sundial – view from above (Keith Salvesen)

The description ends with an intriguing footnote:The baluster pedestal on which the dial stands may be the same one which supported an earlier dial by John England (see BSS Register, SRN 5295). Which leads to the story of the original dial that was in place until Troughton’s renewal in 1795.

The image above shows a gnomon-less dial plate made by John England in 1704. Like the pedestal, the plate is octagonal. It was rediscovered in a cupboard in the College in 2002. BSS recorded the find as follows:

Perhaps because of its period of safe keeping, this horizontal brass dial by John England is in excellent condition, though the gnomon is missing. The engraved numerals are clear and the grooves still retain their wax infill. Small screws at the root of the style are conjectured to be pivots for an associated swinging telescope. Shows 4am to 8pm in intervals down to 1 min. Uses XII and IIII. Numerals read from outside the dial. Fleurs de lys half hour markers. Hours written in Arabic too (16-24 and 1-8) with 24 at Noon. Inscription mentions Trinity College. It is now stored in the Wren Library.

Trinity College Cambridge . Sundial – view S towards the Fountain (Keith Salvesen)

GSS Category: Horizontal Dial; Pedestal Dial

All photos: Keith Salvesen (Matric. 1970)

CHRIST’S COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE: Vertical Dial – Sic Transit Gloria Mundi

Published on June 5, 2023 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

The sundial is located on the wall of the Hall, and – for those not entitled to enter the College – easily visible from the entrance by the Porters’ Lodge. It is dated 1927, replacing a dial known (from an old print) to have been in this position in C17 that was lost during C19 alterations to the Hall. The dial was the gift of a College benefactor. His initials and the year of installation are on the dial supports. The calculations were carried out by a Member of College who was a sundial expert.

The unequal positions of the hour markers take account of the SW aspect of the wall, showing more afternoon than morning hours for accuracy as the sun declines.

GSS Category: Vertical Dial; Old Dial; New Dial; Sundial Motto

All photos: Keith Salvesen

Text based on the entry for Christ’s College in the booklet ‘Cambridge Sundials’ by Margaret Stanier and Alex Brookes. This, and its companion for Oxford, are included in the bibliography.

MAGDALENE COLLEGE . CAMBRIDGE – Double Vertical Dial 1987

Published on April 16, 2023 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

I recently came across a very bad photo I took years ago of this elegant and ingenious dial in Magdalene College. My image is too awful to be the basis of a feature. However BSS has in its records this excellent quality photograph with a short account to accompany it.

A competition among first year engineering students led to the creation of this most striking double vertical dial, mounted in 1987 on the south-facing wall of Benson Court. It was designed by Will Carter in stone and stainless steel and features the motto: ‘Facilius inter philosophos quam inter horologia conveniet.’ (It is easier to gain agreement among philosophers than among timepieces – Seneca) The prize-winning design has the Equation of Time built into the gracefully curving hour lines. A spot of light shining through a pierced stainless steel sun marks the time on each dial.