PAUL . PENZANCE . CORNWALL . St Pol de Leon – Vertical Dial 1810

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ST POL de LEON . PAUL . CORNWALL

GRADE I ✣ C15; enlarged 1600; Restoration 1875. A most interesting church set on the hill above the famous small fishing village of Mousehole. St Pol has much to offer, not least a memorial to Dolly Pentreath, supposed last monoglot Cornish speaker; and a fine example of a coffin stone in the lychgate. The village churchyard has a small maze with a wonderful view LINK.  Congenial pub. 50.0896 / -5.5461 / SW464270

DIAL

BSS notes that the engraving is excellent and remains clear to this day. The half hour lines each have a fleur de lys and all the lines originate from the sun’s rays around the gnomon root. Caroline Martin’s delightful small book on Cornish Sundials notes the interesting and unusual gnomon. To which one adds that the gnomon points to XI rather than noon.

MRS CROWLEY

One benefit from a recent visit to the Penzance area was to make the acquaintance of Mrs Crowley and her remarkable sketch books of the dials of Devon and Cornwall. Her progress around both counties in the 1950s produced dozens of beautifully produced drawings of dials. The details are so closely observed and the drawings so clear that it is difficult to imagine how she managed the task.

On this page, Mrs Crowley – who usually drew compete dials – has focussed on 3 dials with similar designs on the ogee tops above the gnomon. I think it probable that she chose not to make drawings of the complete dials because she was so taken with the similar depictions of Old Father Time with his scythe and hourglass. All 3 churches are within 10 miles of each other.

COFFIN STONE . ST POL de LEON . CORNWALL

GSS Category: Vertical Dial; Cornish Sundial; Sundial Drawings; Coffin Stone;

All photos: Keith Salvesen

MARTOCK . SOMERSET . ALL SAINTS – Cube Dial

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ALL SAINTS . MARTOCK . SOMERSET

GRADE 1 † Mid-C13 with earlier origins; expansion to C16; restorations by Ferrey and Scott 1860 and later. A most impressive Parish church with a 4-stage tower. Admired by PEV as one of the loveliest of Somerset churches on account of its splendid Perp. work on the nave; and for being remarkably airy and spacious. 50.9693 / -2.7687 / ST461191

NOTE: All Saints has multiple scratch dials (10+) – see MARTOCK SCRATCH DIALS

CUBE DIAL

A fine cube dial in good condition. It apparently replaced one that had been in the same position, but it is not clear when. The images largely speak for themselves. However I have noticed from the close-up photos that the dial is canted slightly west. It’s worth repeating that it is never possible to get a decent photo of the 4th side of a cube.

All Saints merits time set aside for a visit. Stocks enthusiasts will enjoy a particularly fine example. You’ll find a gallery of them HERE.

GSS Category: Cube Dial; Church Sundial; Canted Dial; Village Stocks

All photos: Keith Salvesen

BOYTON . WILTS . ST MARY THE VIRGIN – Scratch Dials

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ST MARY THE VIRGIN . BOYTON . WILTS

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)

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial

All photos: Keith Salvesen; ack. David Ross

OXFORD . ST GILES . ARMILLARY SPHERE

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ST GILES . ARMILLARY SPHERE

The armillary sphere is on the grassy area close to St Giles churchyard, where the road north forks towards Blenheim NW, and to Banbury NE. It was evening and rain had been pelting down. The way to a pub led me past the dial, and I was tempted to see what an iPhone camera would make of it.

The dial was given to The City of Oxford in 1986 by its twin city Bonn, and made by a local blacksmith (to Bonn, that is.)

BSS RECORD: Modern equatorial memorial dial in an armillary sphere in the churchyard. The dial is the equatorial ring of an armillary sphere. It shows 6am to 6pm with raised cast Roman hour numerals and half hour dots. The other two rings are vertical – a north-south meridian ring open on the south side and an east-west ring. The axial arrow forms the gnomon. There is no nodus. It is not adjustable for latitude. The dial is mounted on a small stone slab. There is a small plaque on the slab.

Margaret Stanier in her book on Oxford dials, calls it a fine bit of ironwork, with bold numerals, easy to read. She notes that the rings are positioned so that their shadows cannot obliterate that of the gnomon.

The experiment with a phone worked quite well, I think. The details are legible, possibly more so than photos taken in sunlight. And it makes a change.

GSS Category: Armillary Sphere; Modern Dial; Oxford Sundials

All photos: Keith Salvesen

SOUTH NEWTON . WILTS . ST ANDREW – Scratch Dial(s)

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ST ANDREW . SOUTH NEWTON . WILTS

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.

GSS Category: Scratch Dial

All photos: Keith Salvesen

LONGCASE CLOCK WITH A SECRET: THE EQUATION OF TIME

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The Atkins longcase clock above has the initials FA and the date 1781 scratched in a corner of the glass. One year earlier, Francis Atkins had been elected Master of the Clockmakers Company in recognition of his standing. Perhaps this clock was first to be made when his term came to an end.

Opening the door at the front reveals a feature so unexpected that it is hard to believe: a full-scale Table Shewing every Day in the Year at Noon, how much the Equal or Mean Time is Faster or Slower than a Sundial. Maybe this is not so unusual, but I have never come across it.

I’m making no attempt to analyse what can clearly be seen. There may be several ways in which the Table can be read, so I’ll leave it to the reader to interpret.

There is one further interesting feature, perhaps not a rare one. The hand on the lower dial (in fact, counter-dial) has to be gently removed in order to wind up the clock. That’s where the key goes. The clock was Cleaned by Mr. Gallop, Horsecastles, Sept. 1971.

The drawing pin has its own story…

GSS Category: Equation of Time; Sundial Accuracy; Longcase clock with sundial table

All photos: Keith Salvesen

PENZANCE . CORNWALL . ST MARY – Vertical Dial

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St Mary Penzance . Bill Henderson . Geo / Wikimedia

ST MARY . PENZANCE . CORNWALL

GRADE II* ✣ Originally a chantry chapel of Madron parish; records from 1321. In due course rebuilt, and reconsecrated 1838. Destructive arson in 1985; 2 recent attempts. 8 bells of interest. Some traces of the past remain, eg memorial tablets*. 50.1165 / -5.533 /  SW475300

VERTICAL DIAL

This slate dial with its bronze gnomon was originally made for a chapel near the church. The BSS records indicate that the dial declined 12º W in that position, but needed to be canted in its new position to correct for the different declination of the buttress of St Mary’s where it is now to be found.

The dial clearly predates the building of St Mary. Perhaps ± 1800 would cover it. For a chapel, the 5 minute intervals noted below suggest a quite sophisticated dial.

MOTTOES

There are two learned mottoes cut inside the arch at the top, with Father Time below them.

Solem quis dicere falsum audeat Who would dare to call the sun false (Virgil)
Tempus edax rerum Time the consumer of all things (Ovid)

CONSTRUCTION

Mrs Crowley, who sketched dials of Devon & Cornwall, noted a difference between stone top and bottom; and the horizontal line seems too high to be an indicator of the equinoxes and, in any case, there is no nodus on the gnomon. The engraving is good, there are decorative half-hour markers and the hours are divided down to five minute intervals.

In the sanctuary is a Baroque tablet to John Tremenheere, d. 1701, with Doric columns, broken segmental pediment and a winged skull at the base (HE). His tomb is in a family vault below the centre aisle. I am a direct descendent, but unlikely to join him.

GSS Category: Vertical Dial

All photos Keith Salvesen except header as cited

NEW COLLEGE OXFORD . Vertical Millennium Dial

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New College Oxford . Vertical Sundial

NEW COLLEGE . OXFORD

Dusk on a rainy November evening is not an ideal time to photograph high-up sundials, especially ones with intricate but delicate gnomons. Entering the Great Quadrangle, the sundial is visible on the Muniment Tower, beyond which is the Garden Quad. The position of the dial somewhat limits the photographer. A certain amount of refining has been needed in presentation, which I hope will be excused. The dial face is pale blue (white in some photos I have come across). The light conditions resulted in a rather startling blue that I have attempted not very successfully to tone down.

New College Oxford . Vertical Sundial

The New College Millennium dial is on the S facing wall of the Muniment Tower. Quite apart from photographic considerations, the high position means that it is not possible to see the whole dial from ground level. One cannot, for example, see that the M M at the top is matched by W W at the bottom, standing for William of Wykeham who founded New College in 1379; nor that noon is marked by a golden cross.

New College Oxford . Vertical Sundial

The dial marks quarter hours, as indicated by the chequered perimeter. Margaret Stanier mentions a wall-mounted plate showing the EQUATION OF TIME ; and she notes that there was a vertical dial in the same position from 1696 until c1850, then being obliterated by restoration and refacing.

BRITISH SUNDIAL SOCIETY ARTICLE – HARRIET JAMES

This excellent article from the BSS Bulletin Vol 12 .1 of Feb 2000 was published very shortly after the installation of the dial. It has all the material you need regarding the dial, and there are some very clear images that give a view of the whole dial. It also covers the original C17 dial in the gardens.

Download

New College Oxford . Vertical Sundial

GSS Category: Vertical Dial; Millennium Dial; University Dial

All photos: Keith Salvesen. Source material: Margaret Stanier ‘Oxford Sundials’ 2003. College diagram: BLB; tip of the hat to Michael Lalos, a fellow dial enthusiast, who also used the BSS Bulletin

WOOTTON . OXON . ST PETER – Scratch Dial

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GRADE II ✣ Early CI4 origins. St Peter is a delightful small church a short distance SW of Oxford, close to Boar’s Hill and the unrivalled views over the fields towards the dreaming spires. 51.7092 / -1.3122 / SP476013

DIAL

During a recent visit to Oxford to see some of the College sundials, I found an earlier note of a possible dial at St Peter’s. I eventually found it on the E jamb of a tiny window now overgrown by a substantial laurestinus bush and protected by sharp rose thorns. Blood was drawn but it was worth the sacrifice.

The dial stone is near the centre of the photo above. Apart from the gnomon hole, it is just possible to make out traces of what must have been a full circle. There is a slight hint that it may have been a double circle. The noon line (perhaps with a terminal pock) is faint. A second line (XI) is close beside and slightly shorter.

There is a single pock on or close to what would have been the perimeter of the circle. Its position at approx None might support a theory that it belonged to the dial and indicated mid-afternoon Mass.

The dial’s angle adjusted to a more front-on view

NOTE: St Peter has an interesting concave vertical dial at the apex of the porch, to be written up separately in due course with a LINK

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial

All photos: Keith Salvesen

STEEPLE LANGFORD . WILTS . ALL SAINTS – 3 Scratch Dials

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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; 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.

DIAL 3

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.

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial

All photos: Keith Salvesen