WIGMORE . HEREFS . ST JAMES – Scratch Dials

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St James . Wigmore . Herefs

ST JAMES . WIGMORE . HEREFS

GRADE I † On a hilltop overlooking the village, next to the ruins of Wigmore Castle. Saxon origins with good remains of herringbone brickwork visible; early Norman nave c1050. Extended / altered / restored from C14 (tower) on. An impression of a fortified church, esp. tower at W end. 9m from Ludlow. 52.3166 /  -2.8626 / SO412690

DIALS

DIAL 1

Dial 1 is on the SE face of the buttress in NE corner of the chancel (ie at the back of E end of the church), so at some stage re-sited as of little use for its intended purpose it its current position. There are 2 lines radiating from the style hole in the dial stone. In canonical terms, the deeper cut line equates roughly with Nones, and the upper line with Vespers, an unusually specific emphasis on the afternoon and evening, with no line for noon or earlier.

I wondered if, when relocated, the dial stone was rotated by 90º anticlockwise. If ‘corrected’, the short line would be the noon line, and the deeper-cut line would mark Tierce. But it is not very convincing and probably I am overthinking a very simple dial.

DIAL 1 ROTATED 90º

BSS DIAGRAM

DIAL 2

Dial 2 on the wall of S aisle is similarly simple with 2 lines only. One does not actually meet the gnomon. Of the sort that can be read more easily in B&W

DIAL 3

Dial 3 is low down on chancel, S doorway. There are 7 pocks in a semicircle, with the gnomon hole top centre. When I visited there were various obstacles in the supposed location. I found nothing to match the diagram below, and having moved a large planter to one side, this is the nearest pattern I could find.

SAXON HERRINGBONE PATTERN

GSS Category: Scratch Dial

All photos Keith Salvesen except Dial 2 (BSS records)

LLANGARRON . HEREFS . ST DEINST – Pillar Dial; Scratch Dial(?); Consecration Cross

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St Deinst . Llangarron . Herefs

ST DEINST . LLANGARRON . HEREFS

GRADE 1 † C14 & C15; records of C11 origins; trace Norman interlace patterns. Restorations ±1900; later replacement of the top of the spire, repurposed as sundial pillar. Only 1 other church (Itton, nearby) with this Dedication.  7m N of Monmouth; 7m SW of Ross-on-Wye. 51.8871 / -2.6838 /  SO530211

PILLAR (STEEPLE) DIAL

GV II † Tip of spire C14 adapted as horizontal sundial pillar late C19. In churchyard SW of the tower in an ideal place for admiration. Coursed & squared sandstone rubble, circular base. C14 masonry BLB

1. CHURCHYARD VIEW

2. HORIZONTAL DIAL

The dial is octagonal, with quarter-hours marked. IV as IIII. The inscription seems to be Llangarron Parish; and the maker’s name Counsell (though I can find no reference). The Roman numerals are conventional.

SCRATCH DIAL

BSS records a scratch dial with 3 lines on the buttress to W of S porch, in a poor state. Notes include Max. length lines, mm 80. Hard as I looked, I couldn’t find a dial in the given location, or at any height on the buttress. Or elsewhere. Possibly the stonework has deteriorated since the original record was made. The best I can offer is the BSS sketch; and the most promising dial-like area of the buttress.

CONSECRATION CROSS

A fine consecration cross, one of the largest I have seen. One puzzle is that the cross is too large for the stone, so that LHS is cut off at the edge. It seems unlikely that the designer mis-measured to that extent. Possibly the stone was moved and trimmed to fit its present position during restoration.

St Deinst is well described in an online page LLANGARRON HISTORY

GSS Category: Horizontal Dial; Pillar Dial; Scratch Dial; Consecration Cross

All photos: Keith Salvesen

CHARTREUSE DE MÉLAN . TANINGES . FRANCE – Vertical Dial on C13 Abbey

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Chartreuse de Mélan . Taninges . France – Vertical Dial

Cat / Salamander Hunky Punk

The Chartreuse was founded in 1285 as a Carthusian nunnery and continued its religious functions until the French Revolution. Thereafter it became a school and in due course an orphanage. A disastrous fire in 1967 destroyed almost all the buildings on the site, with loss of life. Only the church and its cloister now remain. The church is an exhibition space and the lawns around it feature examples of modern art, from interesting via enjoyable to a few that are a matter of personal taste.

Chartreuse de Mélan . Taninges . France – Vertical Dial

The dial is included by MICHEL LALOS in his excellent French Cadrans Solaires site. Anyone who has in interest in sundials in France will benefit hugely by using this free resource. It is accessible, informative, and easy to use – not least because the dials are featured by Départment with a map for dial locations. The entry for Mélan is :

Cadran peu déclinant de l’après-midi, gravé et peint sur enduit, très dégradé, fines lignes, demies, plus de chiffres dans bandeaux, traces de blason et décor

Dial slightly declining in the afternoon, engraved, painted on rendering, very degraded, fine lines, half-hour lines, numbers within a frame, traces of coat of arms and decoration.

There are paint remnants at the top of the dial, where (presumably) it has been protected by the eaves. The gnomon hole at the top of the coat of arms is square. The dial is obviously old and I wondered if it might be dateable. Checking the apparent shape of the escutcheon, I discovered that it was first recorded as an armorial design in late C17 and (conveniently) turns out to be known as French-style. Overall, one might reasonably conclude that this dial is C18.

MEMORIAL STONE 1690

Chartreuse de Mélan . Taninges . France – Memorial Tablet 1690

GSS Category: Vertical Dial; France Sundial; Cadrans Solaires; Dials Abroad

All photos: Keith Salvesen; source used MICHEL LALOS

MORZINE . FRANCE . A Rustic & Rusty Alpine Dial 2021

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A charming rustic dial incorporated into an iron balcony in Morzine – a surprise find. It seems accurately designed for its specific location and aspect. Included are its longitude and latitude. The hours marked are (most unusually) from 6 to 17: a dial based on the 24-hour clock. The design includes the sun shining cheerfully above the gnomon with a star on either side. A most enjoyable dial to come across by chance. The motto is one we should all abide by…


GSS Category: Rustic Alpine Sundial; Vertical Dial; New Dial; Sundial Motto

All photos: Keith Salvesen

CLEY-NEXT-THE-SEA . NORFOLK . ST MARGARET – A Horizontal Vertical dial

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St Margaret of Antioch . Cley-Next-The-Sea . Stained Glass Window (cr Keith Salvesen)

ST MARGARET . CLEY-NEXT-THE-SEA . NORFOLK

GRADE 1 † C14 and C15. An important and rather wonderful church, part-ruined. One of SJ‘s 1000 Best Churches: a sea church stranded inland. PEV describes a most striking and improbable-looking building, splendid from the S, but splendid in large parts rather than as a whole. 52.9464 / 1.0475 / TG048431

DIAL

I am grateful to my friends in Cley, Hanne Siebers and Klausbernd Vollmar, for discovering and photographing this most unusually positioned dial that has been incorporated into the floor of the church, serving a new purpose despite its damaged state.

St Margaret . Cley-next-the-Sea – Vertical Dial set in the Chancel Floor (Hanne Siebers & Klausbernd Vollmar

The lines are more-or-less equally spaced, suggesting that the dial’s aspect was originally due S. The hours are separated by lozenges, and half-hours are marked. At the back / top end of the dial, there is considerable damage. It is just possible to make out a semicircle with a hole where the gnomon would have been. The incised numerals VII, VIII, III, and IV are less worn and indeed are surprisingly sharp, which might suggest that the dial was below a ledge of some sort that protected the upper part from weathering. One puzzle is the way in which VIII is split by a single crack, yet part of the numeral appears to be missing completely.

DATING THE DIAL

I initially thought that the dial was ±1800. The date of its removal and repositioning was unrecorded in the usual sources. As it turns out (with many thanks to Rev. Richard Lowery and Richard Jefferson) the change of location happened within the last 50 years or so. The dial had been high up on the S porch, but had become a danger. It was taken down and set in the floor of the chancel. The damage occurred at some stage during the relocation.

The earliest depiction I can find is a lovely drawing by John Sell Cotman dated 1818. It gives the dial due prominence and I think it can be confidently dated to ±1750. The work interestingly show the state of ruination as Cotman saw it.

St Margaret . Cley-next-the-Sea – John Sell Cotman – Art Institute of Chicago

Old photos and postcards can be a good way to approximate a date (or a span)

In 1959, C L S Linnell produced a Booklet for the Church. It was obviously successful – there were 4 reprints, the last in 1973. The cover photo of the Church shows the dial in its rightful place (though quite probably it was not updated for the reprints). Certainly by 2000, the dial had been repurposed.

An excellent account of the church and some of its medieval details (roof bosses &co) can be found with this link NORFOLK CHURCHES.

GSS Category: Sundial; Vertical Dial; Old Dial; Repositioned Dial

Photographs: header photo, Keith Salvesen; dial photos (with edits for clarity), Hanne Siebers and Klausbernd Vollmar with thanks as ever for their interest in this dial project and for their excellent contributions from other churches; other images os / cc / as shown

CHRIST’S COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE: Vertical Dial – Sic Transit Gloria Mundi

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Christ’s College Cambridge . Vertical Dial

The sundial is located on the wall of the Hall, and – for those not entitled to enter the College – easily visible from the entrance by the Porters’ Lodge. It is dated 1927, replacing a dial known (from an old print) to have been in this position in C17 that was lost during C19 alterations to the Hall. The dial was the gift of a College benefactor. His initials and the year of installation are on the dial supports. The calculations were carried out by a Member of College who was a sundial expert.

The unequal positions of the hour markers take account of the SW aspect of the wall, showing more afternoon than morning hours for accuracy as the sun declines.

GSS Category: Vertical Dial; Old Dial; New Dial; Sundial Motto

All photos: Keith Salvesen

Text based on the entry for Christ’s College in the booklet ‘Cambridge Sundials’ by Margaret Stanier and Alex Brookes. This, and its companion for Oxford, are included in the bibliography.

SOUTH PERROTT . DORSET . ST MARY – Scratch Dial

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St Mary . South Perrott . Dorset

ST MARY . SOUTH PERROTT . DORSET

GRADE I † C13 origin; tower rebuilt and alterations C15 . Modern (C20) restorations. Early C13 font. Unusual appearance with pleasing matched roof-lines. BHO notes On S.E. buttress of S. transept—scratch dial*. 3m SE of Crewkerne. 50.8571 /  -2.7514 / ST472066

DIAL

A conundrum. BBS records (1997) show a complex dial, part-encircled and with 10 lines (one extended) and 12 distinct pocks. GLP notes that the continuation of the circumference onto the stone above indicates that the dial is in its original location. He suggests that it may be the remains of a LHS half-circle (cf HOLWELL and HERMITAGE).

GLP also points out disapprovingly an attempted ‘restoration’ with thin lines scratched along some of the original lines and part of the circumference line… and most of the holes ‘cleaned up’. These lines can be seen in the images below.

However, although a close shot shows the recently added lines, the dial did not reveal the considerable detail shown in the diagram. I am equipped with a camera and a pair of eyes, but (as an amateur) I could not read the S Perrott dial as I had hoped to.

Details of a dial can sometimes be seen more clearly in a B&W photo. It works to a limited extent here, but not enough to bring out, in 2023, the overall design as recorded in the past.

*It is slightly unusual for sources such as BHO, HE, BLB, to acknowledge scratch dials

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Gargoyle

All photos: Keith Salvesen

BURCOMBE . WILTS . ST JOHN – Scratch Dial; Vertical Dial

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St John . Burcombe . Wilts

ST JOHN . BURCOMBE WITHOUT (N Burcome) . WILTS

GRADE II* † Saxon origins (vestiges still visible); C13, C15; rebuilt tower 1667 (unusually, lower than the nave roof-line); restorations (Wyatt). Split from Burcombe village (S Burcombe) by A30 and hard to find. St John is the sole remnant of N Burcombe. Declared redundant 2005. I could not gain entry. 5m W of Salisbury. 51.0798 / 1.8971 / SU073311

DIAL

St John . Burcombe . Wilts – Scratch Dial

The Burcombe dial is a slight secret, mentioned in TWC‘s Wiltshire dial list but not elsewhere that I can see. St John is also hard to find: check the location carefully before you try. This is a pretty dial, a messy mix of lines and pocks below the horizontal. The noon line – usually an eye-catcher – is upstaged by lines with varying degrees of curve and pocking. It’s hard to interpret, but the two ‘raking light’ photos add a bit of perspective.

St John . Burcombe . Wilts – Scratch Dial

VERTICAL DIAL

St John . Burcombe . Wilts – Vertical Dial

St John also has a canted vertical dial above the porch, with a pleasingly robust gnomon. It fits in with the stonework around it and looks old. However any details on the dial face have been eroded. Unfortunately I didn’t have a proper camera with me to check closely for lines etc. but I wouldn’t expect revelations.

Quaere placename – a mapping mistake

In the early 17th century, when John Speed prepared a map of Wiltshire he copied a version by Christopher Saxton, which showed but did not name North Burcombe. On his own map, Speed labelled the village Quaere (Latin for query), presumably because he intended to check the name later, but never did, and his engraver copied the annotation as if it were the village’s name. Later map printers in turn copied Speed’s map and ‘Quaere’ appeared on maps of Wiltshire for 145 years until Emanuel Bowen corrected the mistake in his 1755 map of the county. (WIKI)

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Vertical Dial

All photos: Keith Salvesen

TRELLECH . MON . ST NICHOLAS – Lady Probert’s dial 1689 (pt 2): a fine wooden replica (2007)

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St Nicholas . Trellech . Mon – Cube Multidial

This post relates directly to its companion in Pt 1. Both articles feature the remarkable cube dial dated 1689, now preserved inside the Grade I listed church of St Nicholas, Trellech, Monmouth – the original and a fine recent (2007) wooden replica. You can find images of the original dial and each of its faces, with detailed descriptions, HERE. The location is 5m S of Monmouth 51.7459 / -2.725 / SO500054

DIAL . 2007

The images of Face 4 below illustrate a frequent experience with cube dials. Invariably, prevailing conditions preclude more than 3 faces being properly photographed. One face will always frustrate all attempts to get a decent photo. Furthermore, it is very difficult to improve a poor photo – it just becomes a different kind of poor. Quite often the only answer is to make the image B&W to catch detail .With apologies, this is what has emerged from the darkroom.

Below the dial are inscriptions on the substantial columns, with carvings that relate to the 3 features of historical importance to the village and its community: Tump Terret; Harold’s Stones; and Virtuous Well.

LINK TO PT 1 HERE.

GSS Category: Cube Dial; Multiple Dial

All photos Keith Salvesen; Pevsner extract Gwent & Monmouthshire; BSS records

TRELLECH . MON . ST NICHOLAS – Lady Probert’s dial 1689 (pt 1): Interior

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St Nicholas . Trellech . Mon – Cube Multidial

GRADE I † Early C14 with earlier origins; reconstruction & restorations 1890s. An exceptionally fine and well preserved medieval church (Cadw); One of the finest churches in the county (PEV).  Coat-of-Arms of Charles II dated 1683. Weathercock of 1792. You need no further recommendation. 5m S of Monmouth. 51.7459 / -2.725 / SO500054

DIAL

St Nicholas . Trellech . Mon – Cube Multidial

A wonderful C18 cube dial dated 1689, the gift of Lady Probert. Once, it stood in the village near the school. It was moved in 1895 and one source suggests that a concrete cast was made. The Latin inscriptions on the dial are descriptive of 3 features that are of historical importance to the village: Tump Terret; Harold’s Stones; and Virtuous Well. The details (PEV) are:

The detailed BSS record adds further details, including the full Latin motto on S, N & E faces: EUNDO HORA . DI…EM . DEPASCIT (The Hour Itself Consumes the Day).

Also included are the inscriptions on the square stone below the dial: 1. Terret Tump – O QUOT HIC SEPULTI (O How Many Buried Here); 2. Harold’s Stones – HIC FUIT VITOR HAROLD (Here was Harold Victorious); 3. DOM MAGD PROBERT OSTENDIT (Lady Maud Probert set this out to view).

DIAL DETAILS

SOUTH FACE

WEST FACE

NORTH FACE

EAST FACE

PART 2 will examine the excellent modern wooden replica (out)standing in a small field by a crossroads. It has been beautifully designed and is a dial of distinction in its own right.

GSS Category: Cube Dial; Multiple Dial

All photos Keith Salvesen; Pevsner extract Gwent & Monmouthshire; BSS records; church noticeboard