Category: Vertical Dial

CANFORD MAGNA . DORSET . Vertical Dial

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CANFORD MAGNA CHURCH . DORSET

VERTICAL DIAL

For the Canford Scratch Dial see HERE

GRADE I ❖ Saxon origins as cruciform chapel. Tower added c1180. Expansion C13, C14; C15 additions; C19 alterations. No dedication. A very fine and interesting church, the late Saxon work being of major importance HE. Without any doubt one of the most interesting churches in Dorset PEV. 50.7889 /  -1.956 / SZ031988

DIAL

A fine dial above the S chapel in fair condition, rather attractively decorated with lichen. The dial is canted to face S, and shows the hours and half-hours from 6am to 6pm in Roman numerals. There seems to be no record of its date, but I will try to find out.

The inscription (‘motto’) begins I PASS… (?), but it’s hard to make out more. I will add it in due course when I have the Motto Bible to hand.

Although this is a Parish Church, it lies within the grounds of Canford School. There are some unsurprising visiting restrictions. If you have an interest in early churches, you will want to spend some time investigating the interior and working out the gradual development. See PEV DORSET p171 and ff.

GSS Category: Vertical Dial; Vertical Dial on Church

All photos: Keith Salvesen

MILBORNE PORT . SOMERSET . Vertical Dial on chimney . 1691

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MILBORNE PORT . SOMERSET

VERTICAL DIAL

The 1691 vertical dial on the Old Post Office in the centre of the village is in an unusual position, on the south-facing side of a tall chimney. It is repositioned, and predates the later prosperity and significance of Milborne Port in C18. At one time there were several local industries. There was even a large ‘ball court’ (for a form of Fives) that still exists as a ruin; and a polo ground. The small size and the height of the dial renders it unsatisfactory for marking the passage of the day. The theory that it was moved during the expansion of the main part of the village and retained as part of the community’s history may be the most plausible explanation for its present position.

BSS record: Eroded. Markings extremely hard to make out. Hourly markings. Arabic numerals. Presumed to show 6am to 6pm. Open triangular gnomon.

As noted above, Milborne Port was once an important and prosperous village, benefiting from the London road. I have added a link below for anyone who wants to get an idea of its former significance. The village of today, while retaining much evidence of its past, seems no longer the thriving community of former times.

MILBORNE PORT BHO

GSS Category: Vertical Dial; Early Vertical Sundial; Dated Dial

All photos: Keith Salvesen

CANFORD MAGNA . DORSET . Scratch Dial

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CANFORD MAGNA CHURCH . DORSET

GRADE I ❖ Saxon origins as cruciform chapel. Tower added c1180. Expansion C13, C14; C15 additions; C19 alterations. No dedication. A very fine and interesting church, the late Saxon work being of major importance HE. Without any doubt one of the most interesting churches in Dorset PEV. 50.7889 /  -1.956 / SZ031988

See Canford’s Vertical Dial HERE

DIAL

The dial is within the porch, RHS of the door and partially obscured by a noticeboard. The original BSS record (2006) notes a filled gnomon hole with 8 radials, encircled [see diagram]. Four irregular moss-filled lines are clearly visible; a couple more are just detectable. The noticeboard stymies the sort of hopeful slantwise photo behind an obstruction that can occasionally be revealing.

BSS Diagram

Although this is a Parish Church, it lies within the grounds of Canford School. There are some unsurprising visiting restrictions. If you have an interest in early churches, you will want to spend some time investigating the interior and working out the gradual development. See PEV DORSET p171 and ff.

There is quite a lot of graffiti, much of it old but with later pupil initials etc. As a bonus, there is a good vertical dial on the apex at the E end, which will be written up separately.

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

All photos: Keith Salvesen

ILCHESTER . SOMERSET . ST MARY – Scratch Dial

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ST MARY MAJOR . ILCHESTER . SOMERSET

GRADE II* ❖ C13 and later, south aisle added 1870s. Three stage octagonal tower, a feature of this area of Somerset (see Barrington, Stoke St Gregory, North Curry, Podimore and Weston Bamfylde). Close by is a fine market cross with a cube dial, also found in other towns and villages locally (eg Martock, Ilchester) – separate post in due course. 51.0009 / -2.6818 / ST522226

DIAL

Without guidance, it would be easy to overlook the dial. DEH does not mention it. I only discovered it from the very informative church leaflet. Despite the clues to its position, it still took me a while to find the relocated and inverted dial, barely 2ft off the ground.

Dial details – Church Leaflet

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REVERSION

With relocated dials, especially inverted ones, it’s often worth seeing how they originally looked. This dial takes on a different appearance when righted.

The two dark areas are almost certainly the footings for a vertical sundial. The slight alignment to the right of vertical suggests a calculated angle. The leaflet note that the dial used to be high on the south wall of the nave definitely suggests a vertical dial rather than a scratch dial (which would be pointless in a high position). Seeing it in its original location, I might have described it as an inverted vertical dial with a damaged surround and erosion evident, especially RHS where faint lines can just be detected.

So, without being didactic, I can’t be sure that this is a scratch dial as opposed to a later vertical dial. All comments welcome.

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Octagonal Church Tower Somerset; Vertical Dial

All photos: Keith Salvesen

SHERBORNE SCHOOL (SSG) . DORSET . VERTICAL DIAL

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SCIENCE BUILDING DIAL

This ingenious dial is located on the south front of the school’s new science building. The Old Shirburnian Society site has a helpful ARTICLE featuring various sundials in the town: here is the relevant entry.

The vertical solar dial on the south front of the science building (opened in October 2011) includes strong references to science. Designed in green slate and stainless steel by David M. Brown of David Brown Sundials in Somerton, each of the ‘numbers’ on the dial is represented by the chemical symbol of that number (e.g., the atomic number for Hydrogen is 1, so there is an H where the 1 would be). It also includes the symbols of Cancer marking the summer solstice and Capricorn marking the winter solstice.

The photos were taken recently at two events at the school, one during the day and the other in the evening. The distance to and the height of the dial precluded clarity using a phone lens. As it has turned out, the main evening photo gives the best detail of the various elements of the dial noted above.

GSS Category: Vertical Dial; Modern Sundial; Technical Sundial; Scientific Sundial

All photos: Keith Salvesen; Descriptive material from Old Shirburnian Society

WEST OVERTON . WILTS . ST MICHAEL – Vertical Dial

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West Overton, 5m W of Marlborough, lies within the mystical area that includes Avebury, Silbury Hill, long barrows, tumuli, sarsens and so on. St. Michael was built in 1878, replacing an older church on the site. The Tower was completed last. High up on S side is a fine Victorian sundial complete with a motto in period lettering. The time scale shows 5am to 3pm in half and (some) quarter hours. The dial was restored in 2003, as detailed by the excellent SUNDIALS.CO, an eclectic site that no dialist should overlook.

The dial was correctly delineated to face 38° east of south. The cast bronze gnomon fell off but was kept by the church wardens. Its original angle was incorrect, and it was set into a slot in the stone to compensate. Restoration involved re-engineering the gnomon and making new clamps to fix it. The dial itself was renovated [précis]

MOTTO

The motto Watch and Pray / Time steals away is quite frequently found in this or in similar forms. Gatty lists several examples from different parts of England. The source seems to be biblical, from Mark 13.33-37: Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

GSS Category: Vertical Dial; Victorian Sundial; Sundial Motto

All photos: Keith Salvesen

LYDEARD ST LAWRENCE . SOMERSET – Scratch Dial; Vertical Dial 1653

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ST LAWRENCE . LYDEARD ST LAWRENCE . SOMERSET

GRADE 1 ❖ Saxon / Norman origins. Chancel and nave c1350, rest C15, restorations 1869 and late C20. A fine example of a Somerset church, most rewarding to visit. Early C16 screen, bench ends of note. Jacobean inverted font. Splendid doors that look entirely original. A bier and an interesting clock (not openly accessible). 10m NW of Taunton. 51.0819 / -3.2461 / ST128321

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SCRATCH DIAL

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The dial is easily seen on W side of the priest’s door. It is a pleasingly straightforward quarter dial marking 6 to noon. The line spacing is somewhat random, and there is some confusion around noon, with faint lines detectable.

DEH visited St Lawrence on Sep 27th 1913, one of his early expeditions. He noted: The stylehole is large and oval, and may have been made so in efforts to extract the style. It is hard to see why this should be done with no new style added; but it does show that the removal of the gnomon was more than a century ago, and not a recent act of vandalism.

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VERTICAL DIAL 1653

BSS Record: The hours use XII for noon and IIII for four pm, and VI, VII and VIII am are written backwards (round the clock’), as is not uncommon. Around the gnomon are carved I HT S / WARDNES / 1653, the W of WARDNES being superimposed Vs, and the letters NE being conjoined, both presumably to save space.

The gnomon is an iron bar with a hooked tip, and the straight support has a curled spur on the upper side and its own hook at the top.

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Vertical Dial; Dated Dial

All photos: Keith Salvesen

DURLSTON CASTLE . SWANAGE . DORSET – Vertical Dial (1887)

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DURLSTON CASTLE . SWANAGE . DORSET

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Durlston Country Park is close to Swanage and has much to offer. The ‘modern’ Castle was completed in 1891. There are extensive grounds, 5 walking / nature trails, sculptures, epochal details chiseled into stone tablets, Art Gallery, tea room, views across to IoW, a huge C19 stone globe, significant jurassic finds.

More germane here, high on S face is a fine vertical sundial (1887). Below it are two stone tablets inscribed with times and tides worldwide.

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DIAL

The dial is inset in the South wall about 5 m above the ground. It shows 6am to 6pm in half and quarter hours. Uses XII & IIII. White lines and chapter ring on a beige rectangular dial-plate all within a four piece chamfered stone frame. The Roman numerals arranged vertically. BSS

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An angled view reveals that the gnomon incorporates the initial B, standing for (George) Burt, the Victorian entrepreneur owner who conceived the idea of what we can still see today. It was (oddly?) described at the time as the most magnificently conceived restaurant.

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Two large incised tablets: essentially they deal with Time & Tides respectively

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GREAT GLOBE

    Great Globe (1887), a vast perfectly formed stone ball inscribed with an eclectic selection of places. Many will be little known or unknown to random visitors such as me. The Society Isles (Pacific) sound pleasant.

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    COMPASS POINTS

    Stone Benches Surrounding the globe, at various heights and angles on a steep stope, are stone benches, each clearly marked with a compass point. In an ideal world there would be an equally fine analemmatic sundial.

    GSS Category:

    All photos by Keith Salvesen except header image Huligano0 OS CC

    LYME REGIS . SUNDIAL HOUSE . MARINE PARADE – Ornate Vertical Dial (1903)

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    SUNDIAL HOUSE . MARINE PARADE . LYME REGIS

    GRADE II ✤ Set back from the Parade, the very visible sundial on what is described (BLB) as a 4-light splayed bay which descends through all storeys to ground floor, with sundial built into wall between 1st and ground floors. The house can be rented. The views of the Jurassic coastline and out to sea are wonderful (on a sunny Spring day, anyway). 50.7238 /  -2.9358 / SY340919

    DIAL

    The dial itself has roman numerals from 5am to 4pm with a long slender gnomon. It is set within an exuberantly decorative frame, with a somewhat enigmatic ‘sun in splendour’ beaming down on it. The house is dated 1903, and the dial must have been designed as a prominent decorative feature. It is in very good condition. The town’s unbeatable Jurassic credentials are show in the large ammonites set into the surrounding stonework.

    MOTTO

    HORAS NON NUMERO NISI SERENAS

    Gatty has a long entry (115) on this motto. Her translation is I only reckon the bright hours. She notes its use as a popular inscription, giving a dozen other locations where it can be found: the motto is too good to be uncommon. The earliest example of its use dates to c1500.

    GSS Category: Vertical Dial; Modern Sundial; Sundial Motto

    All photos: Keith Salvesen

    WEST LAVINGTON . WILTS . The Dial House

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    THE DIAL HOUSE . WEST LAVINGTON . WILTS

    A Grade II* listed William and Mary manor house dated to 1691, with a fine sundial to grace its symmetrical exterior. It’s hard to tell if the dial is contemporary with the building of the manor, or was added during a later restoration. Given the dial’s very specific location, it is perhaps more likely to be original than a later addition. 6m S of Devizes

    The quarter hours are marked inside the narrow frame between the dial face and the numerals

    BSS Category: Vertical Dial

    All photos: Keith Salvesen