Wiltshire Sundial – GAUDIUM SUB SOLE . SUNDIALS . MEDIEVAL TO MODERN

COOMBE BISSETT . WILTS . ST MICHAEL & ALL ANGELS – Scratch Dials

Published on March 8, 2023March 21, 2023 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

ST MICHAEL & ALL ANGELS . COOMBE BISSETT . WILTS

GRADE 1 † C12 south aisle, 2 Norman arches; C13 chancel; C14 tower; C15 nave & north transept. Restoration 1845 by T. H. Wyatt. Early (C12?) font carved from a single piece of Jurassic limestone. One of several fine Chalke Valley churches situated south of the A30 between Shaftesbury and Salisbury. It’s an attractive long cut between the two. 51.0361 / -1.8473 / SU108263

DIALS

On the S-facing central buttress of the tower there are two adjacent scratch dials on the same stone that merge. It isn’t immediately clear (to me) which came first. Whichever, presumably the time came as the church developed when more accuracy in marking the day’s passage was required.

BSS references a 3rd dial on S wall. Other records mention two scratch dials and one sundial on south side. See below for an attempt to ID the sundial.

DIALS 1 (L) & 2 (R)

Coombe Bissett . Wilts . St Michael – Scratch Dials

Dial 1 is recorded as: Irregular dial with 15° lines in both quadrants.

Dial 2 is noted as: Cannot be classified. Eroded, damaged. Mass or line deeply cut.

My visit was early evening, and the quality of the detail in my photos is unimpressive (see above). For example, there is only the hint of the part-circle of Dial 2. Fortunately, this is a church that another dial collector has visited and later he uploaded his photos to BHO / Disqus. Mark Wolstenholme’s excellent images give a much clearer and sharper view of the details of both dials and their intersection.

DIAL 3 (?)

Another dial is recorded as being on the tower, S wall, a short distance W of the ‘dial buttress’ above. The description states Early Christian ‘Tombstone’ dial. Accurately cut or made. Modern replacement. I found this baffling, and the only conceivable candidate I could find in the area may or may not fit the bill. Somehow I doubt it. Suggestions of its purpose would be welcome…

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial

Photos: Keith Salvesen; special thanks to Mark Wolstonholme who uploaded his detailed photos to the BHO site os and to Disqus os

BATH . PARADE GARDENS. British Sundial Society – Armillary Sphere

Published on January 28, 2023January 29, 2023 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

BRITISH SUNDIAL SOCIETY . ARMILLARY SPHERE . PARADE GARDENS . BATH

*Armillary Sphere . Parade Gardens . Bath*

The plaque above gives all the details (including a bar code) necessary to admire and appreciate this excellent armillary sphere that was installed to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the foundation of BSS. My visit to Bath was spoiled by bad weather: gloom with only occasional respite from rain. Hence these rather unsatisfactory photos, which I have had to cheer up somewhat. I intend to replace them in due course, when a visit to Bath coincides with sunshine. The Motto, explained below, describes my predicament.

The gallery of images below gives a 360º view of the dial against glimpses of the Bath setting. One or two are meant to be ‘arty’, never my strong suit.

MOTTO

‘I ONLY RECKON THE BRIGHT HOURS’ is the translation given by Margaret Gatty (p.45 of the compact volume). Other versions include I ONLY COUNT CLEAR HOURS and I ONLY COUNT THE HOURS THAT ARE SERENE. MG wrote (of the succinct Latin version) that the motto is too good to be uncommon, and gives a number of locations where it may be found in England, Scotland, and (unexpectedly) Venice, of which Hazlitt wrote …there is a softness and a harmony in the words and in the thought unparalleled. None of the above modern motto variations works very well; it’s hard to come up with a translation as elegant as the original in Latin. The word ‘serenas’ is the real problem….

ADDENDUM Dictionary research including Chambers – far the best for archaic words and usages – clarifies the motto. A subsidiary meaning of ‘serene’ was, in the past, ‘an expanse of clear sky’; ‘cloudless’; or in one source, ‘sunny’. On countless modern sundials, this Latin formulation is the familiar I only count the sunny hours.

*Motto . Armillary Sphere . Parade Gardens . Bath*

GSS Category: Armillary Dial; Armillary Sphere, Commemorative Sundial

All photos: Keith Salvesen except header image Diego Delso Geo cc; Moot Hall, Aldeburgh Dial David Dixon Geo cc

SALISBURY . THE CLOSE . ‘LIFE’S BUT A WALKING SHADOW’ – Vertical Dial 1749

Published on December 2, 2022December 3, 2022 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

*Malmesbury House . St Ann’s Gate . Salisbury . Wilts – Vertical Dial 1749*

The Close in Salisbury has plenty to recommend it besides a central building for which superlatives are inadequate. Malmesbury House (GV I) by St Ann’s Gate has a particular claim to fame in sundial terms, with the context succinctly explained in the image below. 51.0659 / -1.7938 / SU145296

The very fine sundial on the house is dated 1749. The motto is part of the familiar speech taken from Macbeth Act 5 Scene 5 as Macbeth reacts to the news of Lady Macbeth’s death. It’s not exactly uplifting.

Below is a short text from the Gospel of St John. The dial itself is in very good condition. My amateurishness precludes any meaningful interpretation of the scientific aspect. I will add any significant details in due course.

GSS Category: Vertical Dial; Sundial Motto

All photos: Keith Salvesen

LITTLE BEDWYN . WILTS . ST MICHAEL – Vertical Dial

Published on September 3, 2022 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

ST MICHAEL . LITTLE BEDWYN . WILTS

GRADE I † C12, C13, C15; C19 restoration. A pretty church with a 4-stage tower and short steeple, close by the Kennet & Avon canal. No discernible scratch dials though a likely-looking location. A single vertical dial, angled. 7 miles W of Hungerford. 51.3941 / -1.5828 / SU291661

The dial is high up on a SE facing buttress, with an iron gnomon set into the stone. It has an S-shaped support. The face is completely plain, with no evidence of numbers, lines or a frame. Possibly it was originally painted. Hard to date, though the gnomon is plainly not original.

Using a different camera sheds another light on the dial* and confirms the absence of markings

*and demonstrates how 2 cameras, used at the same time, tell different stories

GSS Category: Vertical Dial; Church Sundial

All photos: Keith Salvesen

WILTON . WILTS . COUNTY CROSS – Multiple Dial

Published on August 16, 2022August 18, 2022 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

COUNTY CROSS . MULTIPLE SUNDIAL WILTON. WILTS

Passing through Wilton on a tedious A30 journey, I paused to visit St Mary**, a partial ruin in the historical Market Place in the centre of the town. On the E side of the churchyard was a tall monument. On closer inspection it turned out to be large multiple dial, badly eroded and damaged. And as with cube dials, it is rarely possibly to get clear shots of every side of a multiple dial. Later investigation revealed much more of interest, considered below.

BLB dates the structure pre-C18. It is hard to imagine how the dial must have looked originally, or the shape of the various elements, or the location and angles devised for the metal gnomons. There appear to be 6 scaphe dials, and plenty of angles for casting shadows. It’s hard to read much more than that. Fortunately BSS has records of the fine dial at Moccas, Herefs for comparison. It has a broadly similar design, and is in superb condition.

In a way, though, the dilapidation of the Wilton multiple dial goes rather pleasingly with the ruins of the adjacent church.

COUNTY CROSS

In due course I researched the dial in more detail, discovering that it had at times been known as County Cross. The informative BLB entry makes it clear that there is much more to the structure than its function as a sundial.

Grade II Pre-C18. An undatable jumble of forms in stone. The octagonal base with 4 seats is probably mediaeval (it is illustrated in a drawing of Wilton done circa 1568), possibly also the square pillar above this. The upper parts are probably C17 and include a heavily sculpted block, possibly a cross or more probably a sundial on corner cannon balls with above, also on corner cannon balls, a moulded base for the C17 godrooned vase which caps this structure.

A print of St Mary by Kershaw & sons (active 1850-80) offers a rather idealised version of the Cross / sundial.

St Mary and County Cross, Wilton . c1850 . Kershaw (RarePrints)

**ST MARY’S CHURCH . WILTON

The remains of the C15 church of St Mary are in the historic Market Place in the centre of Wilton. Listed Grade II*, it was declared redundant in 1972 and is in the care of CCT. Only the chancel, part of the nave, and 3 arcade arches are left. It is an attractive grouping. Not to be confused with the very fine C19 ‘Italianate Church’ on the A30 to the West. 51.0801 / -1.8628 / SU097312

GSS Category: Multiple Dial; Scaphe Dial

Photos: Keith Salvesen; Moccas archive BSS; RarePrints

AVEBURY . WILTS . ST JAMES – Vertical Dial

Published on April 6, 2022 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

ST JAMES . AVEBURY . WILTS

GRADE I † Pre-conquest origins. Significant Saxon features. Splendid Norman doorway. C12 font. Development C12 et seq, with C19 restoration. Archaeologically uncommonly interesting PEV; inc. by Simon Jenkins. BLB Listing. 51.4286 / -1.8579 / SU099699

The vertical dial is below the parapet, L of the porch. From a distance, the only distinct marking on the face is a faint square frame for the dial. Closer examination reveals at least the ‘X’ of noon. The footing of the gnomon is in a badly damaged area. Most notably, the dial is at a canted angle so that it faces south. Hard to date – there’s no clue in the usual resources. C18 perhaps, esp. as roman numerals were used?

GSS Category: Old Dial; Vertical Dial

Photos: Keith Salvesen