SHERE . SURREY . ST JAMES – Multiple Scratch Dials

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ST JAMES . SHERE . SURREY

GRADE I ❖ C12 Norman tower and north nave wall; C13 south aisle and chapel; C14 enlargement, chancel; restorations 1895 by S. Weatherley. Fine C13 font. Most unusual C14 Anchorite cell, definitely in use. Excellent graffiti, in particular several shields. Approved by PEV. Midway between Guildford and Dorking. 51.2191 /  -0.463 / TQ074477

DIALS

As with many multiple scratch dial churches, there are differing estimates of the number of dials, in this case of between 7 and 11. Sources vary, as do the eras when researches were carried out: Victoria County History Surrey (1911); D Renn 1986 (detailed survey); BSS 2000 (images – Lester); 2008 (drawings – Wood). I have decided to lead with 8 dials that are (I think) indisputably the real thing. Each is headed by the relevant BSS diagram and all are close to the pre-porch doorway. The close-up photos say as much about each dial than I could usefully describe.

DIAL 1

DIAL 2

DIAL 3

DIAL 4

Unusually, this dial has 3 circles, and incorporates decorative compass work to form 2 petals.

DIAL 5

DIAL 6

DIAL 7

DIAL 8

A simple deeply-scored dial that cuts into a quatrefoil ‘4-leaf cover’ compass design, presumably apotropaic. The church has a great many protection marks of all kinds, together with several shields. I may feature a selection in due course.

DIALOGRAM

The 8 blue-ringed designs below are all dials. The arrowed 9th, LHS, is debatable – see below The arrows RHS indicate (1) probably one of many crosses; and (2) a mystery, see below.

DIAL 9?

Renn’s count of 10 dials includes this ‘lamda’ incision. When I photographed dial 7, only the top of the scar was included. I am a confirmed dial optimist, but it didn’t occur to me to photograph it separately / include it as a dial..

DIAL 10?

Perplexing. An afternoon dial. Noted in Renn’s survey, on which BSS record is based. Described as Inside church (inside S porch). E face of W jamb. Behind door frame. Lines 4. I didn’t find it. Unlike the impressive array of forward- facing dials in the porch, this one must be small, cut on an angle as Renn indicates, and of little use for marking the passage of the day.

ANNOTATED DRAWING

The green circles mark the uncertainties. There is also a suggestion that there were once 2 other dials, now extant (S chancel wall, E pilaster buttress).

REFERENCES

Victoria County History, Surrey, 3 (1911), 120

Renn DF: Scratch Dials in Surrey, Surrey Archaeological Collections, vol 77, 1986

The British Sundial Society

KEEVIL . WILTS . ST LEONARD – Scratch Dials

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ST LEONARD . KEEVIL . WILTS

LISTING II* ❖ C13, C15 and early C16, good Victorian and later restorations. A link to the well-presented history of the church and its context in the village is given below. One bell is of particular historical interest. A multiple scratch dial church: BSS records 7 from a 1994 survey. I feature 9 candidates below, of which 2 are probably not-a-dials, leaving 7. But are they the same 7, I wonder? 6m E of Trowbridge. 51.3209 /  -2.1195 /  ST917579

History of St Leonard’s Church

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Multiple Scratch Dial Church

All photos: Keith Salvesen [

I am beginning to find my own photos borrowed for online use. I don’t really mind, especially for this sort of niche interest, but a link to this project might be good]

WIMBORNE MINSTER . DORSET . ST CUTHBERGA – PILLAR DIAL

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Ethan Doyle White . Wiki. CC/OS

ST CUTHBERGA . WIMBORNE MINSTER . DORSET

The origins of the Minster date back to the C8. The building seen today dates from early C12 with development during subsequent centuries. Leaving aside the merits of the splendid building, the impressively large stone block on the S side is unmissable. The plinth alone is 6′ high; S face is 4′ wide; E & W faces are 3′ wide. N face has an inscribed tablet only.

DIAL DATES

The images featured below give a good idea of each face, gnomon, and relative aspects, so I won’t go into more detail. However there is a conundrum about dates. There was at least one relocation of the dial, and areas of restoration / repair are evident. The inscription on N face is This ancient sun-dial was removed from the gable of the South transept at its restoration 1891 and was erected here 1894 George E Richards [and] Charles H Gush Churchwardens.

As seen today, the date 1676 is given top left of the south face on new stone. There is no date in the corresponding position on the right side. However in T G W Henslow’s delightful Ye Sundial Booke (1st ed 1914), his charming drawing shows the date 1732 in the top right of the south face with no date on the left side. And more confusingly, in the Wills’s cigarette card sundial series (1928, see below), both dates are shown.

SOUTH

SOUTH WEST

WEST

NORTH WEST

NORTH

Malc1005 Tripadvisor

EAST

SOUTH EAST

Ye Sundial Booke . T G W Henslow

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MINSTER

WILLS’S CIGARETTE CARD SUNDIAL SERIES 1928

FRY’S CHOCOLATE CARD SUNDIAL SERIES

SPETISBURY . DORSET . ST JOHN THE BAPTIST – TWO SCRATCH DIALS (?)

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Spetisbury Church as drawn by Thomas Rackett for the 2nd edition of Hutchings’ History of Dorset

ST JOHN THE BAPTIST . SPETISBURY . DORSET

GRADE 1 ✣ Late C12 / early C13 origins; west tower late C15 / early C16. Major mid C19 restorations from 1858 by T H Wyatt, and later works. 3m SE of Blandford Forum. 50.8258 / -2.13 / ST909029

TWO PROXIMATE DIAL-LIKE DESIGNS

The two incised stones are located either side of the drainpipe on S wall of the chancel. Both have 8 segments (as with a Saxon / Tide Dial). A gnomon hole is conspicuously absent from both. There’s no trace of filling. There are one or two pocks on each, but random and with no specific relation to the overall designs.

GLP in his comprehensive survey of Dorset church scratch dials concluded that the dials “…are just graffiti of unknown date”. He explains that he has included these near-matching designs since otherwise “they might be mistaken for genuine dials”.

Apotropaic symbols? These don’t conform to any mainstream style of protection mark. And they are not in a location that Evil would naturally choose to gain entry.

My own theory is that these 2 designs were scratched on adjacent dark stones during the lengthy C19 restoration period. Perhaps there was a small competition between 2 apprentice masons engaged on the work, or bored by it.

DIAL 1

The cruder of the two, with bent lines and an awkwardly gouged curving ‘noon line’.

DIAL 2

More carefully designed and executed than Dial 1, and with the hint of circle round it.

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Church Graffiti circular pattern; False scratch dials

All photos: Keith Salvesen; Rackett print OS

PADUA . PALAZZO DELLA RAGIONE . SPECTACULAR SUNDIAL

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Padua . Palazzo della Ragione . Sundial . John Renner

PADUA . PALAZZO DELLA RAGIONE . SUNDIAL

A confident and assertive sundial to match the glory and prosperity of the city. The lines divide the hours from VIII to IV into quarters. Each has an arrowhead, with (?unusually) reversal of the ‘minor quarter’ arrows.

GNOMON

At first glance you may wonder why there’s just a dark splodge where one might hope to see a gnomon. It is the gnomon. In researching the dial I came across a really helpful photo by Richard Mortel* that reveals the gnomon to be the ‘pin-hole’ type, the effectiveness of which is clearly shown.

Padua . Palazzo della Ragione . Sundial Pinhole . Richard Mortel

The upper half of the dial has an angled line across the whole dial, leading from an indeterminate animal (in fact a sheep) to a set of scales: Aries and Libra in opposition (Note: this Zodiacal conjunction should not be investigated, for fear of unwanted advice about who you should be dating).

There is an additional aspect to this dial that I am currently researching. First of all I have to clear use permission, but I hope to add to write again soon about this splendid dial. The clue is ‘Meridian’.

Credits: John Renner for his excellent photos of this fantastic sundial taken recently; *Richard Mortel for his clear illustrative photo of the gnomon taken a while back (with apologies if I have wrongly taken it as CC / OS)

TARRANT CRAWFORD . DORSET . ST MARY – Scratch Dial

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ST MARY . TARRANT CRAWFORD . DORSET

LISTING Grade I ✣ C12 origins with abbey links; C12 chancel; C13 nave and refenestration, porch; C15, tower. An astonishing church beyond the scope of this project. Besides the building itself, there are wonderful early C14 wall paintings to admire, also C16 wagon roof & C13 coffin lids. Major restoration in 1911. A very unspoilt church retaining many medieval features PEV. In the care of CCT. 5m SE of Blandford Forum 50.8307 /  -2.1107 / ST922034

DIAL

A number of features make this dial rather special. It is inside an intriguing church; it is cut into the architrave of a (historically) relocated doorway; and the design is endearingly haphazard. There are 5 radials from the gnomon hole, mainly LLQ from (roughly) Terce to just past midday. The lines are uneven in length, depth, spacing and straightness ,not least because of the oddly squarish perimeter. One can’t tell what lies behind the cement repair, but it doesn’t seem that the perimeter continues beyond what one can see.

BSS Diagrams

APOTROPAIC CIRCLES

There are two circles cut into one of the window jamb, the lowest with a dot in the centre. These are a simple form of protection symbol, repelling evil and preventing it from entering the church. Some theorise that these and more complex designs (eg ‘daisy wheels’) trapped evil within the circle – so-called demon traps.

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Protection Mark, Apotropaic Symbol

All photos: Keith Salvesen

GILLINGHAM MUSEUM . DORSET – Scratch Dial cut into Anglo-Saxon Cross

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GILLINGHAM in Dorset has a well-curated Museum spanning prehistory to our lifetime. The many and varied displays include a very special one, a handsome carved fragment of an Anglo-Saxon standing cross. Below are images of all four sides of this wonderful stone. It is enhanced by the later addition of an early dial – a Tide dial.

TIDE DIAL

The dial has a complete horizontal (‘6-to-6’) line, an emphatic noon line, and a short deep line corresponding to the canonical Terce, marking the significant part of the day for observance. An arc of circumference is below; there is no hint of a complete circle.

✣

MUSEUM INFORMATION SHEET

✣

DIAL TWO?

Above right on the stone is a smaller hole with (from some angles) 3 very faint lines radiating from it. Very doubtful, but mentioned for completeness. Possibly an imitative attempt by a bored sacristan.

Second Dial above right?

✣

THE OTHER THREE SIDES

Gillingham Museum, where the stone is on loan from the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Gillingham.

stmaryssaxoncrossfragmentconditionreportfinal8800Download

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Dr John Shepherd: Shephard J F (2023) – Carved fragment from an Anglo-Saxon standing cross and the arrival of Christianity in Gillingham in Annual Report and Review, Dorset Historic Churches Trust 18,  6-7.  

David Lloyd – Gillingham Local History Society

 Images courtesy Tom Wickson (Dorset Historic Churches Trust)

D

TARRANT RUSHTON . DORSET . ST MARY – Scratch Dial

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ST MARY . TARRANT RUSHTON . DORSET

LISTING II* ✣ Early C12 origin; nave extended late C12; early C14 chancel,
transepts, squat tower; C15 porch; C19 north vestry and restoration. 3 squints (‘hagioscopes’, as I have recently discovered). 4m E of Blandford forum, nestled in a valley with several other Tarrants. 50.854 / -2.0902 /  ST937060

DIAL

An attractively simple dial set in flint, perhaps not its original location. There are 6 lines LHS from the horizontal (6) down to to 11. Two are very faint. A morning dial, with 2 slightly deeper cut / longer lines suggesting Nones as the main time for observation. The absence of an obvious gnomon hole – open or filled – is a puzzle. There is a slightly paler area where the radials converge, perhaps marking the site of a gnomon hole filled centuries ago, now worn to a smooth patch

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Medieval Sundial Dorset

All photos: Keith Salvesen

OMONVILLE-la-PETITE . COTENTIN . SAINT-MARTIN – Vertical Dial

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SAINT MARTIN . OMANVILLE-la-PETIT . CONTENTIN

An attractive vertical dial, accurately angled, with Arabic numerals. Semi-circle perimeter and round top gnomon stay. There’s a slight jeux d’ésprit feel to the gnomon. There was no sun on the dial when we visited: I wondered how well it would work in practice.

GSS Category: Vertical Dial; Church Sundial France; Ornamental Gnomon

All photos: Keith Salvesen

WIMBLEDON (SW London) . Fitness Centre . Modern Dial by Christopher St.J.H. Daniel

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WIMBLEDON . FITNESS CENTRE . MODERN DIAL 1996

Christopher St.J.H. Daniel MBE, the maker of this dial, was the pre-eminent and most prolific sundial designer of the modern era. With 3 others, he was a founder member of the British Sundial Society BSS. He died in 2022, leaving a rich legacy of erudition and skill within his specialised sphere and beyond. His sundial book, published by Shire, is an excellent place to learn about sundials and their continuing relevance in a somewhat esoteric field.