GRADE I ❖ Late C15 (dedication 1281). The tower belies the village’s name. In 1670 the original spire was twice struck by lightning, and destroyed. The 4-stage tower became the solution. One of the finest Perpendicular churches in the countyPEV. Much of interest both interior and exterior. Take your time. Splendid grotesques. 5m E of Trowbridge. 51.3131 / -2.1356 / ST906571
The Roman numerals are stylishly incised, and the design of the dial is sophisticated enough to include quarter hour lines within the thin outer circle. I haven’t (yet) found a specific reference to the date of the dial. It ornaments the rather plain Tudor-ish porch and from the style, my hunch is that it was cut after the steeple dramas, and perhaps because of them.
ALL SAINTS . ALTON PANCRAS
The ambitious scale of the dial is comparable with the vast dial of All Saints, Alton Priors below, which is about 18m east LINK
GROTESQUES
ST MARY . STEEPLE ASHTON . WILTS
GSS Category: Vertical Dial; Vertical Church Dial; Huge Church Dial; Incised Church Dial
GRADE I ♱ Saxon foundation. C12 (first record 1102) early C14, C15, 1845 restoration. C12 Purbeck marble font bowl. Jacobean box pews. Spiritual home of the Dukes of Somerset, duly commemorated. Original 14th century oak door, fittings. 18th-century metal sundial LINK. 7m SW of Warminster. Longleat, Stourhead nearby. 51.1468 / -2.2821 / ST803386
DIAL
The dial is located on a quoin stone on the angled W buttress of the nave, in effect facing SE. There are 8 lines (2 faint RHS), with a hint of a horizontal across the filled gnomon hole. In LLQ the large gap between the first 2 lines appears to have a pock midway between them, spaced accurately enough to be deliberate. If so, it may have been intended as a marker of Terce as the most significant hour of observance.
TWO-FACED DIAL: above the porch is an intriguing metal dial with 2 faces at right angles, facing SE and SW. This will be written up separately.
GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial
All photos Keith Salvesen except header, Retired QA (OS CC)
GRADE I ✣ Saxon origins, remnants from late C12; Chancel C13, north and south chantries C14, aisles rebuilt late C14, remainder C15. Highly praised *** by SJ: the screen is the best in Wiltshire; excellent stained glass… A small town fortunately by-passed by the dread A303. 51.0893 / -2.2711 / ST 811322
DIALS
St Michael provides plenty of scope for scratch dial sleuths to bicker about. BBS records 6. The Mere Historical Society records show Handwritten notes on green paper by John Ingram to Dr David Longbourne relating to a sundial (scratch dial) on the buttress of St Michael’s Church, Mere, 1990’s. The Church’s helpful info suggests 2 or perhaps 3. I believe there are at least 6 and possibly up to 10 dials in all.
The BSS record of 6 dials gives 1 – 3 in a cluster on buttress 2 E of the porch (see 4, 9 & 10 below); and 4 – 6 grouped further E on buttress 5 / S wall stairway area.
DIAL 1
DIAL 2
DIAL 3
DIAL 4
(and see plausible dials 9 & 10 on same stone))
DIAL 5
DIAL 6
DIAL 7
DIAL 8 (?)
DIALS 4 (above), 9 & 10
Dials 4, 9 and 10 – all different types – are on the same stone and to an extent impinge on each other.
DIAL 9
DIAL 10
CONCLUSION: enthusiasm can be an enemy of accuracy, and there is always some leeway with multiple dial Churches. I haven’t tried to analyse each dial – the array will with any luck elicit some opinions.
GRADE II ✣ C12, C13, C16. Originally cruciform with crossing tower. Chancel arch blocked and west part of church partly dismantled 1868, gradual deterioration. Chancel used as a mortuary. Declared redundant 1970; now in the care of CCT. A surprising and rather poignant place to visit, all well worth examining. Note the bier. 3m SE of Warminster. 51.1728 / -2.1323 / ST908415
DIALS
St Leonard is a multi-dial church with 9 dials recorded by BSS (1994), of which some details are scant. Four are described only as ‘gnomon hole only’ / ‘cannot be classified’. Featured below are 8 designs that I have concluded are dials, or might be (if only doubtful) in a couple of cases.
DIAL 1
Dials 1 and 2 are together LHS of the Priest’s door
DIAL 2
DIAL 3
Hint of a circle, esp. ULQ
DIAL 4
A hint of a circle, esp ULQ
DIAL 5
Dial stone presumed to have been re-sited and rotated 90º
DIAL 6
A remarkable dial within a square, with 2 large holes at bottom that appear to represent noon. It’s almost certainly unique. There’s mention of a Norman dial: perhaps this is it. There’s an apotropaic feel to it.
DIAL 7
Nearly excluded from consideration. However the small holes are accurately on a circumference, and there’s the possibility of a small gnomon hole under the lichen. Borerline.
Probably not a dial but looks a bit more promising when rotated 90º. The pocks are (roughly) evenly spaced and there is a slight curve. No evident gnomon hole. Maybe simply a drilled design bored by a bored sacristan.
GRADE II ✣ A fine Norman church built late C11 (nave); chancel c1200; tower C13. Major restorations ±1900 (Ponting). An estimable entrance. Worthwhile (PEV) and (more graciously) one of Wiltshire’s most delightful churches (Betjeman). Lovely font; wall paintings; pilgrim crosses, protection marks & graffiti. 6m N of Salisbury. 51.1244 / -1.8301 / SU119361
All Saints also has a vertical dial which will feature separately
DIAL 1
Dial 1 is semicircular, located on the E buttress of the nave, close to the Priest’s door. It is in pleasingly good condition. Almost all lines of this 6-to-6 dial are visible, though much eroded RHS. The incisions are somewhat haphazard, and it is slightly odd that the most significant cut – the noon line – is so random.
DIALS WITHIN THE SOUTH PORCH
On entering the porch, the splendid door into the church itself invites immediate exploration inside. However, the porch conceals 3 scratch dials that a handful of people might like to investigate. There is scant reference to the scratch dials either side of the doorway. A dial LHS is recorded by BSS; one RHS is vaguely hinted at; another dial RHS is not noted anywhere that I can find, perhaps a new (modern) discovery.
DIAL 2
This dial is quite easy to find, half-concealed LHS but visible as one walks past. There are well defined lines, with the noon line probably the almost vertical one with a small pock at the end. I wondered if the straggly lines LRQ were later additions. Without them, the lines are all LLQ and (as with Dial 4 below) indicate mid-morning as the main part of the day for a service.
DIAL 3
Dial 3 is hidden away RHS of the fine door, even less accessible than dial 2. It is a fascinating example of a ’24 hour’ dial, with a full complement of spidery lines of random length of which almost all are still visible.
DIAL 4
Also RHS and even less visible is a conventional ‘morning’ dial, with 4 lines (the upper one is faint) leading down to the slightly deeper cut noon line. This configuration again suggests that mid-morning began the important part of the day for observance before noon.
If you want to know more about this church, in particular the inside, there is a good article HERE
A selection of church marks in the porch. The 2 compass-drawn circles are not dials but [probably] ‘demon traps’. In superstitious medieval times it was believed that evil could be prevented from entering the holy building with protection marks. In this type, evil would become trapped within the never-ending circle. The VV and the M on the wooden door are Marian marks standing for the Virgin Mary, who bars entry to the church by evil.
GRADE II ✣ C12, C15; T.H.Wyatt restoration 1845. A fine church by the R. Avon, with plenty of interest. Focus here is on the splendid C12 inner doorway of the porch with nook shafts and scalloped capitals, and an outer order of arch lozenges, inner of horizontal chevronsBHO. See below for Church History. 5m N of Salisbury. 51.1244 / -1.8301 / SU119361
SCRATCH DIALS
DIAL 1
Dial 1 is by the capital LHS of the door, and quite easy to overlook. Weathered and damaged, with 3 lines visible within what remains of a double circle. Filled gnomon hole.
DIAL 2
Dial 2 is RHS on the arch of the doorway, and much easier to read. A morning dial with 4 clear lines from 9 (terce) to noon, and another fainter line earlier. The random line LRQ was evidently added some time later. Filled gnomon hole and remnants of a narrow double circle, as with dial 1. Perhaps this dial was cut as a replacement for dial 1 which certainly seems earlier; they could hardly be contemporary.
DIALS 1 AND 2
CHURCH HISTORY
VERTICAL DIAL (CHANCEL BUTTRESS)
The dial is on a south buttress. Motto across the top in angular lettering reads: ‘Tempus Fugit’. Upright Arabic numerals – 10, 11, 12, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 still just visible. Divided to 5 mins? Three-dot half hours (remnants of fleur-de-lys? Square frame with wide border, inset into stone of second buttress RHS of south porch. Needs restoring soon if it is to be saved. Would have been quite a good dial originally BSS
The most recent report was in 2005. Given the details mentioned above, the prediction of further deterioration has sadly come to pass.
GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Scratch Dial within porch; Vertical Dial
GRADE I ✣ Origins pre-date 1159 building; some C12 features; S chapel c1280. Mainly late C13 to C15; 1860 restoration by Wyatt. Fine Giffard Chapel. Described 1850 (Hoare) as one of the most interesting parish churches in the Vale of Wily [Wylye], and its architecture has been very little altered since the death of Bishop Giffard in 1301. W window described by PEV as a tour-de-force. Painted pews. Turkeys feature in the church decoration – for why, see below. 4m NW of Wylye. 51.1553 / -2.0722 / ST950395
DIAL 1
The dial is prominent on the lower right corner of the transept window. It is cut into the attractive red stone. At some time it was inverted, along with the stone above it. It’s an assertive dial, unlikely to be missed. There are 9 lines, with the noon having a pock close to the gnomon hole, then extending onto the stone below. A reverted image is shown below.
REVERTED DIAL
DIAL 2
BSS records 2 other scratch dials. Examining the separate but very similar entries for these 2 dials, it seems near-certain that they are in fact one and the same. The notes for one includes worn, error, omission, query. Report date uncertain. They differ as to whether there is a large gnomon hole or none at all; and whether there may be a circle. As it happens, I could only find one plausible candidate in the given location, so I will leave it at that.
The dial is difficult to interpret, not least because it is so eroded. The larger image below hints at a noon line, with perhaps a trace of a line at XI and on the pm horizontal. There is a rough curve LRQ but no certainty that it was ever part of a circle. I doubt that the 3 shallow circular dents relate to the dial. A simple dial, then, but of use (in that location) to those passing after daybreak.
St Mary . Boyton . Wilts – Hypocrite Stone in the aisle
SIDE NOTE William Strickland, builder of Boyon Hall, was said to have brought the first wild turkey to Britain from America in the late 16th century. As a result, there are carved and painted turkeys all over the church; most notable is the lectern, shaped like a turkey instead of the traditional eagle. (David Ross – Britain Express BE)
GRADE II ✣ C12 traces (BHO); then C13 on; C15 tower; Wyatt rebuilding 1860s. A few early features remain. An interesting, well-kept building and churchyard. 6m NW of Salisbury via Wilton. 51.1079 / -1.8758 / SU087342
DIALS
Two scratch dials are recorded with descriptions, with a third mentioned in tentative terms (BSS). When I visited, the only dial I found didn’t match the descriptions nor was it in any location mentioned. There were a few quite plausible gnomon holes but none had any additional dial-ish features, not even eroded traces. Clearly I need to return and try harder next time I’m in the area.
DIAL
A very basic dial with the gnomon hole in the mortar line. Two clear lines either side of noon, possible terminal pocks (if so, perhaps later additions). LLQ there’s a faint trace of a third line.
The dark blue circle in image 1 below marks the dial above; the pale blue circle marks image 2. Image 3 is one of several examples that, apart from holes, have no visible dial characteristics.
GRADE I † C13 origins; C14, C15 development; extensive restoration 1873 (Carpenter). C12 font. 3 scratch dials; and a fine Millennium dial LINK. 10m NW of Salisbury. 51.1363 / -1.9493 / SU036374
DIALS
All Saints is unusual in having 3 dials of very similar design, without the often-found stylistic developments on churches that have more than one dial.
DIAL 1
The most complete dial in terms of information for the passer-by. A complete circle with several lines clear and faint, some with a terminal pock. The noon line extends beyond the circumference, with the lines RHS indicating an afternoon dial.
DIAL 2
The dial’s circle is clear and the gnomon hole is large (with signs of recent enlargement). Apart from that only the faintest traces of lines remain, presumably lightly cut initially and eroded over the centuries.
DIAL3
A partially obliterated circle; a gnomon hole; hints of 3 pocks LRQ. Perhaps we can deduce that this was the first of the dials. Of course, even a stick in the centre hole would give a fair idea of the time of day to the passing parishioner.
GRADE I † Early Church recorded at HestrebeDB. C12 origin as collegiate church; continuing development to C16; mid-C19 restoration (Butterfield). C13 work of particular note. One of the excellent churches to be found in the Wylye valley between Steeple Langford and Sutton Veny. 51.1821 / -2.1086 / ST925425
DIAL
The dial is on the SE face of the angled buttress at E end (by the green tank). It is a fine example of a dial on which all the lines have terminal pocks. At some time it was inverted, and I have shown it reverted below. I cannot find any record of it, BSS or elsewhere.
REVERSION
This dial is primarily a morning dial, with lines marking (in clock terms) the 5 hours from 8 to noon. The deeper lines marking 9 & 10 correspond to the morning Mass time Terce. Possibly, the fainter line LRQ indicates None, another significant time during the day’s observations. In all there are 9 visible lines with terminal pocks during daytime, and a hint of a line above the horizontal in URQ. The vertical ‘midnight’ groove above the gnomon hole can be discounted as part of the dial, I think. It is certainly out of keeping with the carefully thought overall design. Also, it doesn’t reach the gnomon hole.
PLAUSIBLE DIAL?
I noticed this patterned stone and photographed it as I walked past. I would very much like it to be a ‘pock-only’ dial. There is certainly a hole close to the centre of the stone, with a pattern of small holes that look crudely drilled, approximately forming a perimeter. Probably I am overthinking this.
CHURCH MARKS
Here is a selection of church marks – masons’ marks, consecration cross; ‘pilgrim’ crosses; graffiti; a small dial-like design that merits further investigation.
GRAFFITI INCLUDING RITUAL PROTECTION SYMBOLS
GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Church Marks; Consecration Cross; Masons’ marks; Pilgrim Cross; Graffiti
GAUDIUM SUB SOLE . SUNDIALS . MEDIEVAL TO MODERN 