GRADE II* Late C12 – C14; rebuilt mid-C17 after fire; extensive restoration late C19 (G Scott). In addition to scratch dials [see https://gaudiumsubsole.org/2026/09/] there is a very fine baluster sundial in the Churchyard, dated 1818. Mid-way between Bridgnorth and Wolverhampton. 52.5898 -2.2657 SO820991
DIAL
This fine dial seems to be in very good condition. It is a ‘Baddeley’ dial dated 1818, so not made by the pre-eminent John who died in 1804. Those more skilled in dial interpretation than I will, I think, enjoy it. I haven’t been able to work out how the clock speed works.
GRADE II* Late C12 – C14; rebuilt mid-C17 after fire; extensive restoration late C19 (G Scott). A lovely church with plenty to admire. PEV has a small but enthusiastic entry. In addition to scratch dials, there is a very fine baluster sundial in the Churchyard, dated 1818 that will be written up separately in the relevant section. On the ground in front of S wall is the bust of an angel, formerly an adornment of the Houses of Parliament. Mid-way between Bridgnorth and Wolverhampton. 52.5898 -2.2657 SO820991
DIALS
St Chad’s has 2 fine dials on S wall – large, clear-cut, and easy to see. In another area of S wall, I found a small design that is plausibly a simple dial – a small circle with a hole at the centre. Nearby was a less convincing design that I discounted. For the excellent Baluster Dial (1818) in the churchyard, see https://gaudiumsubsole.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=25027&action=edit
DIAL 1
Located at E end of S wall. Large, covering 3 stones. A full circle split horizontally by the mortar-line. The upper half has no radials or other marks dial-ish marks. Probably the large, deep hole URQ has nothing to do with the dial. The gnomon hole in the mortar line and the area round it is significantly damaged.
The lower half is a ‘6-to-6’ dial, below which 8 radials are clear. The deeper cut line at mid-morning may indicate the significant time of day for observance at this church.
DIAL 2
A very visible buttress dial, cut into a single stone. The style hole is (almost) at the centre, and has been enlarged over time (on purpose rather by corrosion). The position and spacing of the radials is unusual, making the dial significantly asymmetric. There are 5 lines visible LLQ, then the noon line, then five more LRQ. There are faint suggestions of other, eroded lines, but overall the dial lacks the symmetry one might expect.
GRADE I ❖ C14 / C15. Fine perp. tower (c1497) – Best of the outstanding group of (Somerset) towers built around 1500. PEV (also enthusiastic for the fine bench-ends). Well worth exploring as a whole. Helpful Church material. 5m NW of Taunton. 51.06111 -3.18861 ST16802976
DIAL
On the porch gable can be seen RHS a small sector of a large dial cut into the red sandstone. It is badly damaged and what remains is hard to make out (see BSS interpretation below). One could say that it isn’t strictly a (part) scratch dial at all, but rather a later and more sophisticated time measurer. If so, it may date to ±1600.
BSS records: On the gable of the porch. The dial was originally incised into the wall. Hour lines were marked from 7am to 5pm but only a few lines and numerals can now be seen. The hours are marked in two arcs with 7am and 5pm being at a smaller radius. The dial has been shaded by a large Yew tree for over 100 years. [Of note is that BSS classifies the dial in its records as ‘vertical dial’, rather than ‘scratch dial’ RH].
Interestingly, BLB notes that ‘a pediment over the entrance contains remains of a ‘scratch clock‘ (ie rather than ‘scratch dial’).
DEH did not include St Mary in his exhaustive Somerset church research between 1910 – 15. Possibly he missed the dial because of its unusual position (for a scratch dial) or its poor condition. If he saw the dial, he may not have considered it a scratch dial to add to his collection, but rather a later style of time-indicator.
All images Keith Salvesen / Rolling Harbour
GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Gable location; incised detail
A straightforward modern commemorative dial at Minterne House in Dorset, bestowed by the National Gardening Scheme. When I took these photos recently, I forgot to check whether the very pretty pedestal dial that was originally in that part of the gardens had been re-located (see below, a dial with a view)..
Oxenhillshaw – Own work . Permissions ‘Public Domain’
BOXGROVE . W SUSSEX . St Mary and St Blaise
GRADE 1 ✢ C12. Much remains of the original cruciform church, noted as ‘one of the finest medieval churches in Sussex’. Simon Jenkins: “It is a magical church full of echoes of French influence along the Sussex coast. Its crossing is a mystery of light and dark and the great chancel is alive with Tudor roses and heraldry. The De La Warr chantry contains beautiful early French motifs from a Book of Hours. These must be some of the best renaissance carvings in any English church.“ 3m NE of Chichester; 50.8599 / -0.7109 / SU908075
‘ADJACENT’ BUTTRESS DIALS
DIAL 1
The very damaged lower part of a dial that, when recorded in 1919, appears to have had a complete double ring around the perimeter (Sussex Archaeological Collections Vol. LX). In which case, the two stones above the half-dial as it is today must have been replaced – perhaps with other work in that area – between then and now.
DIAL 2
The simplest of dials. I have not come across many dials where the circumference fit exactly within the dial-stone. Here, the shadow of a wooden or iron rod at the centre of such a large dial would have served the community well by being easily visible. It could of course have been a sexton’s compass-accuracy project.
PLAUSIBLE DIAL?
I had seen no mention of a dial in this position, but I saw it on my way to the buttress dials and took a closer look. It is certainly – close to the doorway – in a very good location for a dial. The hole is almost centered on its rough stone, and there must have been a reason for this. More research needed, I think…
GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Sussex Dials.
All photos: Keith Salvesen / Rolling Harbour
PARISH COUNCIL Excellent detailed examination of the church and much of interest in the Parish Records from Doomsday on.
GRADE I ❖ A slightly puzzling church. Mainly C13 but with Norman arches, pillars, and one window. BLB notes Chancel, south vestry, nave with south aisle, and porch and tower in the centre of the north side + Medieval church with ‘good interior’ C19 external restoration. 6m E of Chichester (allow for traffic). 50.8415 / -0.6899 / SU923054
DIALS
There are two similar dials that are adjacent, or in fact slightly overlapping. The upper dial is pleasingly conventional. The lower dial is very rustic, with 5 rather haphazard lines and a somewhat potato-shaped circumference line. There is a faint scratched cross RHS.
DIAL 1 and 2 together
In this case, the dials speak for themselves. The only mystery is whether the 2 dials were cut together, or at least during the same period. My uneducated guess from the appearance of the stone, this looks very possible. So, a competition between 2 idle or bored sacristans (with a clear winner)? A ‘first draft’ that was later improved upon? A young bell ringer killing time perhaps…
GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Paired Dials; Dials on single stone;
GRADE II* ✣ C13 origins; rebuilding / restoration late C19. Use of local Doulting stone. More to this church than some brief mentions allow – for example the interior layout. See instead the detailed BLB entry HERE Also this, for Brass enthusiasts: two small brasses of 1673 and 1690 to Edward Bennet and his wife Susan, the latter signed in copperplate lettering: Guliet Cockey de Wincanto(n), Reputed to be the only such signed brass found in Somerset. Part of the churchyard is managed as a wildlife site under the Living Churchyard project. 51.1239 / 51°7’25″N; -2.4019 / 2°24’6″W / ST719361
VERTICAL DIAL
The dial is situated high up on E quoin of S face of the tower. The dial-stone is large and eroded to the extent that there are no visible dial features or markings. Perhaps there never were. The ‘iron rod’ gnomon is pleasingly simple, and from some angles makes a square frame.
GRADE II ❖ C13 / E.E. Cruciform; W tower with shingled spire. Roughcast facing. Very attractive small medieval church, little restored (BLB). Approved by Pevsner (unusually harmonious…the showpiece is N doorway in a simple but very sophisticated style). 4 miles E of Chichester. 50.8379 -0.722 / SU900050
DIALS
A ‘matched’ pair of dials on either side of the priest’s entrance, unusually cut at exactly the same level.
DIAL 1
Very much a ‘morning dial’, with a curve of dots LLQ 9 – 12. Damage makes it hard to assess the number, but at least 6 (perhaps a group of 3 marking the noon-line?). The gnomon hole is deep and was probably enlarged / damaged much later – it looks very neatly drilled. Of particular note is the faint circle border that looks, in sunlight, almost complete. An optimist might suggest the hint of an outer circle, esp. LLQ.
DIAL 2
Level with its companion dial, this one is badly eroded / damaged. The gnomon hole is central, and there are visible dial features. Of these, the clearest is the radial at ‘9’, suggesting that mid morning was the main time for observance. I wondered when and why the grey ‘wash’ was applied
❖ ❖ ❖ ❖
WARTIME GRAFFITI: CLOSE BY IS RAF TANGMERE WHICH PLAYED SUCH A VITAL AND DECISIVE ROLE IN THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN, 1940.
GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Priest’s Door Dials; Dial Pairs
GRADE II* ❖ Dates from C13th; Original N tower replaced C15 with W tower; revisions and renovation until full restoration 1869, with further work 1906. Local lias. Halfway between Ilchester / Somerton. 51.0331 / -2.692 / ST515262
DIALS
DEH visited on Oct 1st 2014. He found 3 dials and gave a longer account than usual. Dial 1 is on E buttress of the Tower, at head height. Dial 2 is on W side of S porch. The 3rd dial is low down within the porch, on E side.
There is also a rather splendid though much worn vertical dial high up on the same buttress as Dial 1. DEH either missed it (because he was examining the south side at usual dial level); or perhaps he saw it and decided it was outside the scope of his scrutiny (see below).
DIAL 1
There are 8 radials. The configuration suggests a noon arrangement of 5 lines with quite accurate spacing and line length. The other 3 radials seem to have been added rather rustically RHS at a later date. The plugged gnomon hole is still discernible in the mortar line.
DIAL 2
I either forgot to photograph this dial, or my camera and I had a misunderstanding. The dial is on W side of S porch. DEH noted: It is 5 feet 5 inches above the ground, the noonline is about 5 inches in length, and the style hole is open and badly shaped.
DIAL 3
The dial is within the present porch, RHS of the the original church door. Before the outer porch was added, the dial may have served well as a time-of-day checker for passers-by, or perhaps for an Acolyte to keep an eye on before ringing the bell for a service. Later, it becomes decoration.
VERTICAL DIAL
The dial is unusually high up for a country church, and the finer details must have been rather lost on viewers. It is now badly damaged and in need of some TLC before it flakes away. I will probably write it up for my Vertical Dial page, however of interest include: the simple horizontal iron gnomon; the carefully graduated lines; the numbers being within a frame; and the use of IIII for IV.
GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Scratch Dial within Porch; Somerset Scratch Dials; Vertical Dial
GRADE II ✢ C13 chancel; remainder C19. C12 font. Local lias stone prettily incised PEV. Tower so simple it could be early C20 BHO. Midway between Somerton and Castle Cary. 51.068 / -2.647 / ST547300
DIALS
DEH visited on May 26th 1914. He recorded two dials close together on the quoins on SE corner, one above the other. These differ quite markedly. Dial 1, the lower, is simple though not rustic. A few inches above, Dial 2 is more sophisticated, presumably cut to improve on the earlier dial.
DIAL 1
The lower of the 2 dials is straightforward. 3 radials descend for from a large (now) gnomon hole. The noon line is flanked by a line either side. The spacing is more or less accurate. The line of dots on the radial RLQ, if deliberate, may have been Mass-markers for the main time of observance – after noon.
DIAL 2
This dial has 5 radials (perhaps 6) and a large quite deep gnomon hole. Two almost vertical lines are deeper cut and end in small holes. This arrangement suggests noon may have been the Mass-time, marked from mid morning. The most interesting feature is the faint arc of a circle RHS. In places, there is the hint of a secondary circle. One must presume that at one time the rings were complete but are long-since worn away.
GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Time-marking; Somerset Scratch Dials
GAUDIUM SUB SOLE: Scratch Dials & Sundials Medieval to Modern 