Scratch Dial – GAUDIUM SUB SOLE . SUNDIALS . MEDIEVAL TO MODERN

EVERCREECH . SOMERSET – St Peter

Published on November 21, 2025November 22, 2025 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

ST PETER . EVERCREECH

GRADE 1 ❖ C14, C15, restored 1825 by Jesse Gane of Evercreech; further in 1843; late C19 work. Very tall 3-stage ‘Mendip-type’ tower, visible from some distance. Worthwhile interior. Town prosperity partly from silk and enhanced by railway in 1862 – axed by Beeching in 1966 despite intervention by John Betjeman. 51.1463 / -2.5026 / ST649386

UPDATE: Yesterday I wrote dismissively of the St Peter’s dial, based on camera photos. Now that I have seen my iPhone photos (almost always the best option for close-up shots but I had nearly run out of battery) I have changed my tune a bit…

DIAL

Emphatically not vaux le voyage, and included here mainly because in 1913 DEH counted it as a dial [85] when compiling his exhaustive record of Somerset scratch dials. On SE buttress of the tower he found a ‘quite clear’ circle with a shallow style hole, but without any lines. He put the design in his Doubtful category.

100 + years since the record was made, the circle has eroded away and the hole is not shallow. I had decided to demote this to the not-a-dial category. However, looked at closely and at an angle, it appears that what was once DEH’s ‘shallow hole’ has more recently been neatly drilled deeper into the stone (in fact, a dial would now be workable using a rod or stick). So I conclude that there is evidence of dialishness, though doubtful.

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Somerset Scratch Dial; Dom Ethelbert Horne

Credits: photos and research – Keith Salvesen (Nov 2025)

THORNCOMBE . DORSET – St Mary

Published on October 30, 2025 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

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

RIPE . EAST SUSSEX – St John the Baptist

Published on September 4, 2025 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

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

HORTON . GLOS . ST JAMES THE ELDER – Vertical Dial

Published on July 28, 2025 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

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 . nr KILPECK . HEREFS – Scratch Dial

Published on July 27, 2025 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

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

PETERCHURCH . CHURCH OF ST PETER . HEREFS – 3 Scratch Dials

Published on June 29, 2025July 27, 2025 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

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’

WINTERBORNE STICKLAND . DORSET . ST MARY: 3 Scratch Dials

Published on April 17, 2025 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

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ST MARY . WINTERBORNE STICKLAND . DORSET

GRADE 1 ✣ C13 origins; Tower ± 1600; considerable restoration C18. Scratch Dials 3; Graffiti: C17 & 18 initials & dates on responds of tower arch. 5m S of Blandford. 50.8409 / -2.2363 / ST834046

See separate entry DOUBLE-FACET DIAL ABOVE PORCH

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SCRATCH DIALS

DIAL 1

SE corner of the Chancel. 8 lines with extended noon line. A morning dial, cut in or near LLQ.

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DIAL 2

SE corner of nave buttress. Worn and at first sight just a gnomon hole near the centre of the stone. On closer examination and despite the lichen, a number of lines can be detected (GLP suggests 7).

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DIAL 3

SE corner of nave buttress, immediately above Dial 2 but on a larger and different stone type. Very degraded / eroded, but two downward lines are just visible.

NOTE: GLP, in his comprehensive survey of Dorset scratch dials, considers all 3 dials to be C13

GSS Category: Scratch Dials; Mass Dials; Medieval Sundials; Dorset Scratch Dials

All photos Keith Salvesen; Ref. Gordon Le Pard

MINSTER LOVELL . OXON . ST KENELM – Scratch Dial

Published on March 10, 2025March 10, 2025 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

St Kenelm . Minster Lovell . John Renner

ST KENELM . MINSTER LOVELL . OXON

GRADE I ✣ Entirely rebuilt in the mid-15th century, incorporating earlier foundations and materials. C15 font and pews. Other details of the interior at BLB. Behind the church are ruins of its predecessor. 51.8001 / -1.5315 / SP324113

DIAL

The dial consists of an incomplete circle of 9 holes, and no radials. There are a couple of eroded marks at the top that might have been linked to the design. A pleasingly small, neat dial.

LOCATION

The dial is on the buttress on L corner of N transept chapel, to the left of entrance porch. It was obviously repositioned at some time, given its orientation and the dissimilarity of the stone to those around it.

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Relocated Dial

Photos: John Renner with thanks, except 2 ACNY cc/os

ODDINGTON . GLOS . ST NICHOLAS – 3 Scratch Dials

Published on March 7, 2025March 7, 2025 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

ODDINGTON . GLOS . ST NICHOLAS

Grade I ✣ C12 origin; gradual expansion to C15 (see BHO diagram); C19 restorations. Much of interest within, esp vast mid-C14 Doom wall painting on north wall of nave. Of note: stone bench seats within porch with incised lines where yeomen are reputed to have sharpened their arrows (cf Gnosall Staffs). In 1291 the rectory was valued at £14 13s. 4d. The extremely informative Evenlode Churches website is recommended – a model of its kind. 51.928 / -1.6598 / SP234255

DIALS

There are 3 dials in a cluster on W face of the porch. The first is very visible and detailed, undoubtedly the latest. The second is a semi-circle type, fanned out beneath the mortar line. The third is little more than a trace between the two, perhaps a test scratching or passing whim.

DIAL 1

DIAL 1 has a sizable gnomon hole, enlarged over tIme. The noon line is emphasised by being cut beyond the circle boundary; it also marks Sext. The emphatic horizontal incision RHS suggests that sunset (nocturns; compline) was a significant hour for observance. There are 4, possibly 5, faint lines URQ – probably rustic knife / nail scratchings rather than part of the original dial.

DIALS 2 and 3

DIAL 2 has 6 lines radiating from the mortar line. The discrepancy between the line spacing LLQ and LRQ was perhaps an attempt to correct the shadow-fall angle of the sun in the later part of the day.

DIAL 3 is as close to not being a dial as it could be. However, there is a badly cut line at approximately noon; and (anticlockwise) a line approximately at None. There’s also a hint that a gnomon might have been in the vertical mortar line above the horizontal.

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Dial Cluster; Medieval Doom Painting

CREDITS: All main photos, John Renner; header Mike Baldwin Geo cc

MARTIN . HANTS . ALL SAINTS

Published on December 1, 2024December 2, 2024 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

ALL SAINTS . MARTIN . WILTS

GRADE I † Early C12 origins; C13 chancel, tower; C14 / C15 transepts; other works then & later inc C18 spire, C19 restorations. A striking building in a small village just off the A354 Salisbury – Blandford Forum. Clock installed in honour of Winston Churchill 50.9754 / -1.9009 / SU070195

DIALS

All Saints is a multiple dial church, with 8 listed in the BSS records. My dial count is 9. It’s a fine church, and dial-hunting was an easy pleasure. I have decided to let the dials speak for themselves without undue commentary on individual characteristics unless called for. Below the dials is an excellent article by the Hampshire Field Club that analyses all you need to know about each dial, and in particular the locations (for which I lost my notes).

BSS RECORDS