Category: Wessex Sundials

ST JAMES . MILTON CLEVEDON . SOMERSET

THE CHURCH IN THE FARMYARD

GRADE II* ❖ Original church built C12; rebuilt 1790; restorations 1860s. 5 bells, of which one cast in Bristol c1380 (PEV). Delightfully situated beyond a large farmyard (in adverse weather a visitor might wish they had brought wellies). 6m SE of Shepton Mallet. 51.1383 /  -2.4807 / ST664377

DIAL

One of DEH’s early finds, in June 1912, as his researches spread out from Downside Abbey. He describes the dial as easily found, and ‘curious’. And so it is. I’d welcome any wise views on this unusual configuration.

‘There appears to be little doubt but that this arrangement of five holes is really a dial. While no other has been found exactly like it, it shows a family likeness to those on the churches of Seavington St Mary and Whitelackington’.

But each of these just has a single large style-hole, as opposed to the array at Milton.

ROTATION

Occasionally it helps to rotate a dial image to check correct orientation. Not here though.

GSS Category: Scratch dial; Mass Dial; Repositioned dial; Dial interpretation; DEH – early research

All photos: Keith Salvesen / Rolling Harbour

ST EDMUND’S . HAUXTON

GRADE 1 ❖ Early C12, nave & chancel arch c1120; font late C12; C15 tower and alterations. Overall of considerable interest. Clear evidence of the church’s early state. Fine scratch dials either side of the doorway. Good for graffiti hunters (check the timbers in the bell tower). 5m S of central Cambridge. 52.1492 / 0.0973 /  TL435521

DIALS

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DIAL 1

An ‘unusually large’ Canonical or Anglo-Saxon dial (Brooks / Stanier). A semi-circle with 6 radials descending from the horizontal line. The ‘last’ radial is endearingly wonky compared with the rest, as if a casual afterthought. The gnomon hole is quite large and deep, but that could have happened at any stage in the dial’s history. Repair / restoration work doesn’t impinge on the dial, though the dial stone has been reshaped at some time.

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DIAL 2

This companion dial is very similar, though with less detail visible. One distinction is that there are 2 adjacent radials LLQ that are deeply cut by comparison with the rest. This is a ‘morning’ dial – the canonical ‘terce’ / 9am – indicating the main time for observance for the community.

The puzzle here is that there are 2 near-identical dials in close proximity, for the same purpose. Plenty of ‘dial churches’ have more than one. A primitive early dial might later be replaced by a more sophisticated one, but it is rare to find an almost-matching pair. A C13 sexton might cut a dial on the same wall or buttress as a C12 dial, but he’d make his own mark for posterity.

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BSS RECORDS

There’s a more modern mystery involving the records of the British Sundial Society. 20-30 years ago, small-res photos were taken of both dials. This was for the general record rather than for detailed analysis. Even allowing for small cameras of the era, the comparison with the photos above is startling .

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Medieval Church; Medieval Graffiti

All photos Keith Salvesen except the final 2, BSS

ST BOTOLPH’S CHURCH . CAMBRIDGE

A large double-faceted dial high up on the SW buttress of the Church, above Trumpington Street. The faces are angled due S; and SW. They are easy to read despite the height, and appear to be in excellent condition. Comparing my recent photos with one from 2000, it looked as though the dial must have been repaired / repainted / refreshed since then. BSS confirms that the dial was recently re-gilded at August 2014.

Brooks and Stanier note that the present dial replaces a much earlier dial (date and position unknown) that was ‘designed by a Mr Butterfield and repainted in 1614 at a cost of 18 pence’.

GSS Category: Cambridge Sundial; University Sundial; Double facet dial;

All photos: © Keith Salvesen

ST MAURICE . VAL-d’ILLIEZ

We passed this small church on the Swiss / French border several times, noting the dial and the commonplace Motto. The final time we passed through the village I took a photo from the car (I wasn’t the driver). There’s always some joy in collecting an unpretentious dial in congenial place. This is a rather blurry example.

GSS Category: Vertical Dial; Church Dial; Sundial Motto; Carpe Diem

All photos: Keith Salvesen / Rolling Harbour

SAN VINCENZO FERERRI . RAGUSA . SICILY

The church was built by Dominican monks and dates to c1509. In 1693 it was largely destroyed by an earthquake. Rebuilding followed by later work and restorations followed. C20 saw a number of actual or intended improvements, encapsulated in one source as ‘underwent serious transformations… these interventions led to total abandonment of the church and also led to the collapse of the roof‘. The church is now deconsecrated and is used as a public auditorium.

DIAL

This splendid dial is on the W end wall of the church, a marker for the passage of the afternoon and evening. The location suggests that the most significant time for observance was in the latter part of the day. The hour lines are painted black; the equinox lines are red. The ‘grid’ includes an angled path from Leo to Gemini.

Credits: all photos except header, John Renner (with thanks for yet another fine Italian dial); enjoysicilia.it for helpful information about the church and its dial.