GRADE I † C12 origins (?); C15 inc tower & porch; C16 rebuilding / additions. Material from nearby Milton Abbey incorporated. C19 restorations. In proximity, a fine early vertical sundial (1690); 2 date stones (1569); scratch dial (probable?). Several excellent gargoyles N side. 2m W of Milton Abbey. 50.8259 / 2.3114 / ST781029.
VERTICAL DIAL
A fine dial in very good condition for its age. The gnomon is an amusing extension of the sun’s nose. I took the design LL corner to be an hour-glass, which would be appropriate. In close-up I wonder if it is a religious symbol; and if the design LR corner is a square and compass.
DATE STONES
THE BAGPIPER
SCRATCH DIAL
The dial design of a double circle with a hole in the centre is far from unusual. No lines, no pocks; just a stick needed to mark the passage of the day. This type is generally included in the Scratch / Mass Dial category of church marks; and I go along with that. However, having recently researched Cyffe Pypard and Fovant (both Wilts) which have several dials including this design, I am beginning wonder. It’s hard to think of a reason why a dial-cutter would not to add lines, pocks or both to a device specifically made to mark the passage of the day. But what if these are apotropaic symbols cut into the walls of the church to catch evil: ‘Demon Traps’ from which, once entered, encircled evil could never escape?
GSS Categories: Vertical Sundial; Old Sundial; Date Stones; Gargoyles / Hunky Punks; Scratch Dial
GRADE I † C13 (recorded 1273), C15 nave & tower. C19 restorations (Butterfield). In a lovely position below a wooded stretch of the cliff PEV. Pevsner & his wife Lola are buried together in the churchyard**. Interior has much of interest: pulpit 1629; excellent monuments C13 on, medieval stained glass. 7m SW of Swindon. 51.4917 / -1.8939 / SU074769
Sir Nicolaus Pevsner
DIALS
As one approaches the porch from the lych-gate, there are two very visible dials, one on either side of the entrance. A third dial in that area is noted (eg BLB / HE). In fact there are more dials, but when I visited, finding them involved negotiating overgrown bushes and parting tree branches in light drizzle. There are also some dial-ish designs – eroded or incomplete – that are doubtful, but are included below for consideration.
DIALS 1 & 2
Dial 1 is LHS of the porch. This large dial is encircled, with the upper segment encroaching on the stone above. There are 7 / 8 lines, two of which are ULQ (so, not useful). The noon line extends well below the circumference and through a partial double circle. I think this is the BLB / HE third dial, though I think it is more a doodle than a dial. The emphasised line LLQ may mark Terce. The oddly inaccurately cut lines R of the noon line seem surprisingly casual for such a prominent dial.
Dial 2 is the counterpart of Dial 1, and far simpler. The overall design suggests that it is on its side, 90º anti-clockwise, perhaps re-sited.
DIAL 3
Obscured by foliage, Dial 3 is unconventional. The clear-cut circumference surrounds a single line with a dot at each end, slightly tilted from the horizontal. On the curve RHQ is a dot roughly corresponding to the Mass-time None. In the centre is a blocked gnomon hole. There are no lines or other markers of the passage of the day. In a sense , there is no necessity for lines to mark the hours – a stick’s shadow is almost as helpful.
DIAL 4
Dial 4 is largely hidden by foliage. Unusually, it consists of 4 concentric circles. These are now badly eroded; one is a trace only. Apart from the central gnomon hole, there are no other visible dial attributes: no lines, no pocks.
This type of dial is not unusual. Here is a similar dial in FOVANT Wilts, with 2 concentric circles and no other marks than the gnomon hole. However, I ought to mention that some consider that such designs are not dials, but may have a decorative and possibly an apotropaic function.
DIAL 5
Dial 5 (?) – if a dial – is a classic ‘drainpipe’ example, in part concealed by a more modern addition to the church wall. There must be some doubt here because it is hard to see how it – with the arc of a circle below – would have worked.
DIAL 6?
Dark and damp, this stone was difficult to read. If a dial, it is contained within a square with the top side being the mortar line. In favour of dial status is the location of the dial stone beside a window and the position of the dial; traces of a circle; a pock directly on the circumference LHS roughly corresponding with Terce; and the fact that the design is quite accurately framed as if to display it better. Equally, there are reasons to discount it.
OTHER DIAL CANDIDATES and CHURCH MARKS
Another interesting part double circle, endearingly wonky. Very doubtful as a dial. Most interesting for the graffito UR, which may be a simple form of a type of ritual protection symbol that consists of rectangles with line and dot patterns.
The two marks on this stone – with variations – are quite often used as protection marks.
Note again the the double curves RHS. Most probably an incised design, rather than a dial.
Further evidencing the incidence of protection symbols is this Marian VV mark close to Dial 2.
The handsome bier kept in the church, and in excellent condition.
**In 1951 Pevsner published the first volumes of his magnum opus, The Buildings of England, an enterprise that took nearly 25 years to complete. The substantial Wiltshire volume was recently revised, expanded, and published in 2021
GSS Category: Scratch Dials; Mass Dials ; Multiple Dials
GRADE II † Almost entirely rebuilt & enlarged in successive stages from the beginning of C19, incorporating reused details of C12 fragments, C14 and C15 stonework. Rather incongruous neo-Norman features. C12 Purbeck marble font; fine nail-studded medieval door. Tower-less and Spire-less. 4m N of Weymouth. 50.6506 / 50°39’2″N / SY667835
DIAL
The dial is on the L jamb of the early doorway (inside later porch), and remains of a full circle are still visible. 6 lines radiate from a small filled hole that is significantly off-centre. One line is elongated beyond the circle. The None line is emphasised by a small pock near the end. The noon line (if it is one) is the most unassuming of them all. There’s a hint that very light graffiti has been superimposed on the dial.
GRADE I † Late 12th-century origins (parts of nave & chancel evident). Mainly C15 with later additions; S porch added C17 using old stonework; extensive restoration 1865. C13 font; Purdue bell 1658. Off the beaten track in a valley midway between Dorchester & Weymouth. Hardy-esque. 50.6599 / -2.445 / SY686845
Bincombe Church 1802 (Gentleman’s Magazine)
DIAL
Bincombe is a hidden village in the folds of the hills inland from the pleasures of Weymouth. It’s a mere 20m from our house yet until I visited a church nearby, it wasn’t on my radar at all. I must have passed close by it hundreds of times.
The dial is located on the E jamb of the SW chancel window, about 2m from ground level . GLP describes 4 short lines, with the noon indicator being the gap between two of them. He notes that the dial must have been moved to its position for reuse as part of the window jamb, truncating 2 lines LHS. Finally, he concludes that, the window being C15, the dial predates 1400.
Holy Trinity Bincombe – BSS Record
The dial, small and chunky, is in the top L corner of the dial stone. I haven’t seen one quite like it. The gnomon hole is surprisingly deep for such a little dial. In situ (and in the photos), there are ghosts of 2 or 3 lines LRQ angling towards the hole (but not converging?) Probably best disregarded.
CHURCH MARKS
Holy Trinity has a fine selection of crosses / protection marks drilled into the porch entrance. Here are a couple of examples.
GRADE 1 † C14, C15 with C19 restorations. Predominantly Perp. A large and impressive building in a small community, admired by PEV: ‘of great interest’. A companion to nearby Huish Episcopi. 9m NW of Yeovil. 50.9865 / -2.8042 / ST436210
NOTE: this post has been superseded in April 2024 after a visit in sunshine. The faint dial markings owing to poor light are now legible. The text is much the same. See the new post HERE
DIAL
St Martin . Kingsbury Episcopi . Som – Scratch Dial
The dial is located on the W buttress on the S side, and has a gnomon hole large enough to be seen from the church path. DEH visited in Sept 1912 and noted that, because the dial is about 8′ above ground level, it would have been moved to its present position during reconstruction of the tower (the oldest part of the church).
The dial is very eroded, and it is now hard to make out the details. DEH describes a complete wheel of thin lines without a circle. More than a hundred years later, the design is very faint indeed. Neither inspection nor photos reveal what DEH will have seen.
GRADE I † C13 origin; tower rebuilt and alterations C15 . Modern (C20) restorations. Early C13 font. Unusual appearance with pleasing matched roof-lines. BHO notes On S.E. buttress of S. transept—scratch dial*. 3m SE of Crewkerne. 50.8571 / -2.7514 / ST472066
DIAL
A conundrum. BBS records (1997) show a complex dial, part-encircled and with 10 lines (one extended) and 12 distinct pocks. GLP notes that the continuation of the circumference onto the stone above indicates that the dial is in its original location. He suggests that it may be the remains of a LHS half-circle (cf HOLWELL and HERMITAGE).
GLP also points out disapprovingly an attempted ‘restoration’ with thin lines scratched along some of the original lines and part of the circumference line… and most of the holes ‘cleaned up’. These lines can be seen in the images below.
However, although a close shot shows the recently added lines, the dial did not reveal the considerable detail shown in the diagram. I am equipped with a camera and a pair of eyes, but (as an amateur) I could not read the S Perrott dial as I had hoped to.
Details of a dial can sometimes be seen more clearly in a B&W photo. It works to a limited extent here, but not enough to bring out, in 2023, the overall design as recorded in the past.
*It is slightly unusual for sources such as BHO, HE, BLB, to acknowledge scratch dials
GRADE II* † Saxon origins (vestiges still visible); C13, C15; rebuilt tower 1667 (unusually, lower than the nave roof-line); restorations (Wyatt). Split from Burcombe village (S Burcombe) by A30 and hard to find. St John is the sole remnant of N Burcombe. Declared redundant 2005. I could not gain entry. 5m W of Salisbury. 51.0798 / 1.8971 / SU073311
DIAL
St John . Burcombe . Wilts – Scratch Dial
The Burcombe dial is a slight secret, mentioned in TWC‘s Wiltshire dial list but not elsewhere that I can see. St John is also hard to find: check the location carefully before you try. This is a pretty dial, a messy mix of lines and pocks below the horizontal. The noon line – usually an eye-catcher – is upstaged by lines with varying degrees of curve and pocking. It’s hard to interpret, but the two ‘raking light’ photos add a bit of perspective.
St John . Burcombe . Wilts – Scratch Dial
VERTICAL DIAL
St John . Burcombe . Wilts – Vertical Dial
St John also has a canted vertical dial above the porch, with a pleasingly robust gnomon. It fits in with the stonework around it and looks old. However any details on the dial face have been eroded. Unfortunately I didn’t have a proper camera with me to check closely for lines etc. but I wouldn’t expect revelations.
Quaere placename – a mapping mistake
In the early 17th century, when John Speed prepared a map of Wiltshire he copied a version by Christopher Saxton, which showed but did not name North Burcombe. On his own map, Speed labelled the village Quaere (Latin for query), presumably because he intended to check the name later, but never did, and his engraver copied the annotation as if it were the village’s name. Later map printers in turn copied Speed’s map and ‘Quaere’ appeared on maps of Wiltshire for 145 years until Emanuel Bowen corrected the mistake in his 1755 map of the county. (WIKI)
GRADE I † Saxon origins; DB as Aelfsige. Dedication unknown. Dated to C14 (BLB notes C13 chancel & porch). C19 restoration. Incumbents recorded from 1353. In a most attractive setting down a long path, and grouped with a large medieval tithe barn, dovecote &co. 8m E of Lewes, 6m W of Polegate. 50.8299 / 0.1369 / TQ505055
DIALS
All 4 dials are cut on either side of the blocked S doorway of the nave. 1 LHS and 3 RHS, of which an adjacent pair are low down, almost at ground level.
DIAL 1
On the L jamb of the blocked doorway, the most advanced and clearest of the 4 dials. Mid-C15? Encircled, with a full cross of vertical (12-12) and horizontal (6-6) lines emphasised by deeper incision. The lower half has 6 additional lines (and hints of a couple more). A single line UR quadrant divides it fairly accurately. The gnomon hole is (now) rather large for the size of the dial but that may have happened in the course of its history.
Alciston Church . E Sussex – Scratch Dial 1
DIAL 2
RHS of the doorway, the same height as Dial 1. A much simpler dial with 2 lines only. The worn circle contains just 2 lines LLQ, one faint and the other deeper cut. Possibly the faint line was originally the marker for Mass, and was superseded by a more visible line (hand-cut without a rule, it would seem).
Alciston Church . E Sussex – Scratch Dial 2
DIALS 3 & 4
Just above ground level are 2 enjoyable dials on the same stone, presumably re-sited from a more visible position. However the stone sits comfortably with the overall design of the doorway, so I wonder whether all the dials (or those RHS) were moved to their present position when the doorway was blocked / during restoration?
The dials are adjacent – in fact, contiguous. Both circles are endearingly wonky, though the lines are cleanly cut. Dial 3 has been more carefully incised, with some attention paid to accuracy. Dial 4 probably came first and the more sophisticated Dial 3 later replaced it.
Dial 3 has 2 small dotted crosses within its circumference, also suggesting a later date than Dial 4. One cross consists of 4 separate dots; the other has the dots connected by lines (the vertical is very faint).
Alciston Church . E Sussex – Scratch Dial 3 & 4
DIALS 2, 3, and 4 as a group
Alciston is one of several rewarding churches in the area for a visit. You could combine it with climbing Firle Beacon which, at a height of 217m, counts as a Marilyn.
Frederick Barrett – Sussex Archaeological Collections 100 1962
GRADE I † C12 with earlier origins; chancel & tower C13. Spiritual home of the Gage family of Firle Place, with fine memorials to the family; also close connections with the Charleston set. Good brasses, work by modern artists. St Peter has 2 dials. 5m E of Lewes. 50.845 / 0.0884 / TQ471071
DIAL 1
This dial was recorded (1993) as located on a quoin stone on the W side of the N porch and repositioned at some time in its history. Since then, in 2018, the N door has been incorporated in an extension for a loo and related purposes. It is very well done but from the outside there is now no access to the old doorway. The dial must be reached from inside the church, where in the new annex the dial can be seen RHS of the original N door. Commendably, the dial is behind a small perspex screen to protect it, but not directly over it – a thoughtful way to display and conserve a small piece of history.
BSS notes the dial as repositioned, eroded, damaged and it was deemed a rudimentary (Norman) dial. The only marks detectable now are the faint remnants of a circle among the blotches of lichen.
St Peter . Firle . E Sussex – Scratch Dial 1
DIAL 2
Located on the E-facing wall of the S doorway, and obviously re-sited at some stage to be of any use. A clean straight hole in the centre of the stone but even close to, no lines or dots now visible. I am pretty certain it is / was a dial, but some might call it doubtful. The stone is quite frangible amid the flint, and erosion over the centuries was perhaps inevitable.
GRADE I † C12 origins; gradual development C13 on, with later restorations C15 / C16. S porch (where the dials are) added C16, with earlier material reused. 8m SW of Dorchester. 50.6709 / -2.5638 / SY602858
DIALS
St Peter has 4 scratch dials, 3 on the E side of the S porch, 1 on the W side. One of my nemesis churches. I have visited in rain, in cloud, and in sunshine. Of the cluster of 3 on E side, I could only make out the obvious one. Eventually I managed to identify them from an enlarged photo. The BSS recorder’s diagram below gives an idea of the dials rather more clearly than my photos can.
DIAL 1
Dial 1 is located on the E side of S porch. Five lines are noted in the BSS records, of which 3 are clear and reasonably accurate. The gnomon hole is in the mortar line, where the lines converge.
DIALS 2 & 3
Dial 2 is very basic, and would be easy to overlook. There are 2 faint lines, with the top part including the gnomon hole cemented over a damaged area.
Dial 3 is even less conspicuous: a faint wishbone shape, 2 (3?) lines, one with a pock at the end.
I would doubtless have passed over this pair; and even had I noticed them I would have discounted them in my amateur way.
DIAL 4
Dial 4 is on the west side of the south porch, on an inner quoin stone. At first glance it might be taken for an area of damage. In fact it is a dial with 6 lines, 4 of which end in pocks. It was described many years ago as not very accurately laid out and the passage of time has not improved the situation.
GAUDIUM SUB SOLE . SUNDIALS . MEDIEVAL TO MODERN 