Category: Wiltshire Sundial

MARTIN . HANTS . ALL SAINTS

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ALL SAINTS . MARTIN . WILTS

GRADE I † Early C12 origins; C13 chancel, tower; C14 / C15 transepts; other works then & later inc C18 spire, C19 restorations. A striking building in a small village just off the A354 Salisbury – Blandford Forum. Clock installed in honour of Winston Churchill 50.9754 / -1.9009 /  SU070195

DIALS

All Saints is a multiple dial church, with 8 listed in the BSS records. My dial count is 9. It’s a fine church, and dial-hunting was an easy pleasure. I have decided to let the dials speak for themselves without undue commentary on individual characteristics unless called for. Below the dials is an excellent article by the Hampshire Field Club that analyses all you need to know about each dial, and in particular the locations (for which I lost my notes).

BSS RECORDS

GALLERY OF 8 + 1 DIALS

DETAILED IMAGES

DIAL 1

DIAL 2

DIAL 3

DIAL 4

DIAL 5

DIAL 6

DIAL 7

DIAL 8

DIAL 9

This dial is included in the BSS records (bottom row LHS)

Volume VII Part I.pdf

Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club, XV , Pt. 3, p. 27a.

damerham-martin-dials-pooleDownload

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Multiple Scratch Dial Church

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

MAIDEN BRADLEY (2) . WILTS . ALL SAINTS – Unusual Diptych Dial

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ALL SAINTS . MAIDEN BRADLEY (∏ Retired QA)

ALL SAINTS . MAIDEN BRADLEY . WILTS

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. Scratch Dial featured HERE. 7m SW of Warminster. Longleat & Stourhead nearby. 51.1468 / -2.2821 / ST803386

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DIAL

All Saints has an unusual and intriguing double-faced sundial above the porch, thought to be C18. At first sight, looking towards the porch, it could be a cube dial. The 2 sides are at right angles facing SE and SW. Between them, they cover the ‘6-to-6’ time span. There are faint markings on the dial faces – roman numerals, lines (see below).

BSS records two declining dials of similar design believed to be made from one sheet of metal folded at the centre. Between them they show 6am to 6pm in half hours.

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SOUTH ASPECT

It is worth noting that the two gnomons are matched in both style, and position on each face. This is only (I think) possible with equal SE / SW angles. BSS notes SE dial may be ‘slow‘.

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SOUTH EAST ASPECT

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SOUTH WEST ASPECT

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DIAL MARKINGS

A poor photo enlarged, showing the visible markings – lines and the reciprocal roman numerals at the edge of each face.

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SCRATCH DIAL HERE

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial

All photos Keith Salvesen except header, Retired QA (OS CC)

STEEPLE ASHTON . WILTS . ST MARY – Large Vertical Dial

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ST MARY . STEEPLE ASHTON . WILTS

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 county PEV. 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

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

GREAT DURNFORD . WILTS . ST ANDREW – Vertical Dial

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ST ANDREW . GREAT DURNFORD . WILTS

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

Note: separate post on the 4 scratch dials in the porch HERE

The dial is on the south wall of the tower, 8m up. Markings a bit unclear. Shows 8am to 7pm, 15 min marks. Half hours marked by triple dot pattern. Mounted in flint rubble wall of tower – rebuilt in 17th C – below and to the right of the clock. BSS Record

GENERAL VIEW

DIAL WITH ROMAN NUMERALS

DIAL ANGLES and TRIPLE DOT HALF-HOUR MARKERS

GSS Category: Vertical Dial; Church Vertical Dial

All photos Keith Salvesen

MIDDLE WOODFORD . WILTS . ALL SAINTS – Scratch Dials; Vertical Dial

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All Saints . Middle Woodford . Wilts

ALL SAINTS . MIDDLE WOODFORD . WILTS

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 chevrons BHO. 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

All photos: Keith Salvesen

STEEPLE LANGFORD . WILTS . ALL SAINTS – MILLENNIUM SUNDIAL

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ALL SAINTS . STEEPLE LANGFORD . WILTS

GRADE I † C13 origins; C14, C15 development; extensive restoration 1873 (Carpenter). C12 font. 3 scratch dials (separate post). 10m NW of Salisbury. 51.1363 / -1.9493 / SU036374

DIAL

The dial is 10′ up on the SE corner of the nave. Gold lines on slate ground. Open gnomon. Numerals not gold. Date at top with scrolls all in Red. Uses XII and IV, with all numerals vertically arranged, and shows 6am to 6pm in half hours. Lines drawn from small semicircle at root. Full length half hour lines (BSS).

This is a fine MM dial and a pleasure to walk towards. Hopefully the gnomon can soon be pegged back into the upper hole, making the time of day easier to determine.

GSS Category: Vertical Dial; Millennium Dial; Dial Dates

All photos: Keith Salvesen

GREAT WISHFORD . WILTS . ST GILES – Circular Vertical Dial

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ST GILES . GREAT WISHFORD . WILTS

GRADE II* † C13 origins; C15 tower; C19 restorations esp by Wyatt, some work reflecting the older styles. PEV – with an eye for quirks – notes Manual fire engine said to be early C18. 4m N of Wilton. 51.1188 / -1.8863 / SU080355

VERTICAL DIAL

On a recent trip to the Wylye Valley to look at specific churches for scratch dials, I passed through Great Wishford. I stopped, not because I expected to find a scratch dial, but because I noticed an unusual circular dial on the E end – something like a satellite dish for receiving the sun’s rays. I hope someone will enjoy working out how the dial works in practice; or even whether, in its position and at that angle, it is accurate.

My amateur skills fall well short of understanding how the dial works in the technical sense. The position and angles of the dial and gnomon seem all wrong. The numbering, too. On a dull day I was fortunate to catch a moment when the sun cast a shadow.

GSS Category: Vertical Dial

All photos: Keith Salvesen

CHITTERNE OLD CHURCH (Chapel of St Mary) . WILTS – Scratch Dial

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CHAPEL OF ST MARY (CHITTERNE OLD CHURCH) . WILTS

GRADE II* † St Mary recorded by at least 1319, date of the first known vicar. Chancel built c.1450; survived demolition of the rest of the church; used as a mortuary chapel. NB this is not Wyatt’s fine flint and limestone church of 1863, All Saints, in the centre of the village. You will have to seek out this tiny single cell churchlet – with its impressively large churchyard – via a narrow path behind a dejected-looking pub. 51.1943 /  -2.0163 / ST989438-

DIAL

St Mary has a single dial R of first window. It would be easy to overlook – unusually for a scratch dial it is 2.5m high. Centred in dial stone, with 9 lines encircled in a double ring.

GSS Category: Scratch Dial

All photos: Keith Salvesen