GRADE II* ❖ Norman origins, C14 work, rebuilt C15, restored 1872. An attractive church both outside and in. Visited by DEH on 6 Oct 1911 on one of his early dial expeditions from Downside Abbey. Roughly halfway between Wells and Shepton Mallet. 51.199 / -2.6094 / ST575446
DIAL
DEH recorded a single dial on W corner of S aisle. He noted a 2.5 inch deep gnomon hole, and commented ‘…this dial is cut on soft red sandstone and has all 12 hour lines… many of them probably added to the original design’. More than 100 years later, only 9 are legible.
GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Dial erosion
GRADE II* ❖ C13 – C15; C19 restoration (some by T H Wyatt). Quite large, with nave, chancel, north and south porches, south vestry, west tower. Predominantly Perp. Busy history and plenty to look at, approval by PEV. 10m N of Castle Cary; 16m S of Shepton Mallet 51.124 / -2.4854 / ST661361
DIALS
There are 3 dials (one unrecorded?). W of the porch, low down on a relocated quoin stone, there are 2 interesting near-overlapping dials cut on W face. This is a good example of ‘dials ancient and modern’: a small early dial – simple and rustic – superseded by a later dial cut with attention to detail. The 3rd dial is on the buttress E of the porch.
DEH visited the church on 16 October 1913 . By now he was using a camera to photograph selected dials, including Lamyatt. The quality of his images is surprisingly good. He also used a motorcycle to extend the scope of his researches from Downside Abbey. More about this extraordinary monk in due course.
Note: single ‘t’ Lamyatt; plugged gnomon hole, now invisible
DIALS 1 and 2
DEH visited the church on 16 October 1913 and recorded dials 1 & 2.
DIAL 1. This small dial has 3 radials emerging from a now undetectable gnomon hole in the corner of the mortar line ULQ. The deeper cut and crudely bent line RHS suggests that the main canonical hour for observance was Nones. In due course a replacement dial was called for.
DIAL 2
DIAL 2. On the same quoin stone, also W-facing, a later and far more practical dial was cut. 4 radials the same length fan out from a gnomon hole in the mortar line (the original plug?). These are arranged within a minor arc, and scale up both in width and depth LHS to RHS. The overall effect indicates competence and care by the maker.
The radials each end in a dot (one is barely detectable). The line spacing of the dial in its original position arrangement is a puzzle. In a literal way, noon would be exactly between lines 2 and 3, as sometimes found on other churches.
DIAL 3
On the buttress E of porch, at head height, a dial with 2 long lines descending from a mortar line that has a hint of a gnomon hole. It seems to be in its original position. Presumably the vertical mortar line – now a crack – acted as the noon line dividing the 2 radials from the smaller quoin stone.
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.
Seavington St MaryWhitelackington
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
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
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’.
South Face showing gnomon stay (B&W for clarity)
GSS Category: Cambridge Sundial; University Sundial; Double facet dial;
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.
Keith Salvesen
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.
Keith Salvesen
GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Somerset Scratch Dial; Dom Ethelbert Horne
Credits: photos and research – Keith Salvesen (Nov 2025)
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.
ScreenshotScreenshot
GSS Category: Vertical Dial; Church Dial; Sundial Motto; Carpe Diem
Max Gate is a fine house on the eastern edge of Dorchester, designed and built by Thomas Hardy (with his father and brother) in 1885. He lived there until his death in 1928. He had two wives, Emma and then Florence, and during the ‘Max Gate years’ there were complicated relationships, sadly beyond the scope of this article.
In 1940 the house was bequeathed to the National Trust by Hardy’s sister. It was listed Grade I in 1970 with the stipulation that it should be lived in. The NT gives generous access to the interior, and there are conducted tours of the house and grounds. It is not exactly ‘lived in’, but it does feel homely rather than museum-like. To see Hardy’s desk and other writerly items feels a privilege. ‘Tess’ was written there, also ‘Jude’, the ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge’, and much of his poetry.
MAX GATE – VERTICAL SUNDIAL
High up on the east tower, the dial is a good example of a sundial that (besides its primary use) acts as a memorial, and tastefully reflects the significance of the dedicatee. It is also very visible and easy to read at a distance. The lightly ornamental gnomon is moored at the bottom right corner as you face the dial. The style is simple, with 12 hours marked from 7.00am to 6.00pm and 24 radials to record half hours. The dial plate is white-painted wood. Overall the dial is in poor condition, but I gather that there are plans to carry out complete restoration during 2026.
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MOTTO
QUID DE NOCTE?
Literally, ‘WHAT OF THE NIGHT ?’ Interrogative sundials are relatively unusual, and I am unsure when the inclusion of question-marks began. The simplest reply might be ‘NIHIL’ – the sun is asleep.
.The marriage certificate (1839) of Thomas Hardy’s parents at Melbury Osmond church, Dorset
GSS Category: Vertical Dial; Memorial Dial; Dial Mottoes
Credits: Keith Salvesen (all photos); National Trust; Melbury Osmond church
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.
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.
GAUDIUM SUB SOLE . SUNDIALS . MEDIEVAL TO MODERN 