ILCHESTER . SOM . MARKET CROSS

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GRADE II ❖. 1795. Market Cross on site of earlier cross. Ham stone. Circular base with two chamfered offsets, set on circular step; square stepped plinth carrying simple Doric column with entablature moulding over, then square-plan block with sundials having sheet metal gnomons, and a ball finial with wrought-iron wind vane. (VCH, Vol III, 1974).

DIAL M FOR MISFORTUNE

The VCH record of 1974 pre-dated 2 subsequent calamities. The original dial, erected in 1792 was significantly damaged in 1990 gales. A replacement with new column, dial, and gnomons was erected in 1991 (BSS). The original dial motto was indecipherable and was replaced by a new motto Tempus Orbis.

Then in 2017, a car drove directly into the monument, smashing the base and causing the whole edifice to collapse (see below). ST 52193 22723

This is a fine example of a Market Cross, one of 3 or 4 in the region (eg Martock). Tall, slender, and uncomplicated, the dial is pleasingly in proportion to the overall design. My camera didn’t deal with the height well enough to show the detail. Several angles of the dial and gnomons are shown, but not the markings on each face. However, there is a close-up view of one face of the dial below.

MONUMENTAL DAMAGE 2017

Early one August morning a car drove directly into the monument. The driver seems to have been unhurt, and was arrested for drunk driving (outcome unknown). The impact smashed the base and destabilised the entire structure. The images below show the dramatic aftermath. The monument was in due course rebuilt using parts of the original structure(s) where possible. It now, unsurprisingly, in excellent condition.

The restorers BODEN & WARD earned a prestigious award for this challenging project. The link will take you to their records; the photos of some of the reconstruction work are fascinating.

TEMPUS ORBIS

A simple-seeming motto that is hard to translate. Not mentioned by Gatty. The literal ‘Time (of the) World’ doesn’t really work. Perhaps ‘the Circle of Time’, given that the quotidian day lights each face as the world orbits the sun.

GSS Category: Cube Dial; Market Cross; Market Cross Sundial; Pillar Sundial

Image Credit: Keith Salvesen; BBC / Christopher Brown; Somerset Live; Bowden & Ward

TIMSBURY. HANTS . ST ANDREW – Scratch Dial & Church Marks

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ST ANDREW . TIMSBURY . HANTS

GRADE II* ✣ C13; C15 chancel rebuilt; C16 porch, bell-cote; later restorations esp 1847. A fascinating small church with plenty to offer the visitor besides the look of it including: medieval protection marks and graffiti; remains of wall paintings; tiles; good pew ends; an intriguing porch; a nice memorial horizontal dial in the churchyard; and the grave of Noel Thelwell (beloved pony cartoonist) and his wife. The church information sheets are models of their kind. 3m N of Romsey; 8m S of Stockbridge. 51.0193 / -1.5084 / SU345245

Horizontal Dial in Churchyard HERE

DIAL

The dial was recorded in April 1922 by ARG, the originator of scratch dial research in Hampshire. He, like pioneer Somerset dial researcher DEH 10 years earlier, was equipped with a camera.

ARG noted 4 definite lines of equal length, perhaps more under the lichen. Located on SE quoin stone of the chancel, facing due S. Style hole about 4 ft high, in mortar line (thus forming the horizontal / 6-to-6 line).

There were several later descriptions of this dial. The last official BSS record (photo below) was made in 1994.

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DIAL IN JANUARY 2024

The condition of the dial may have deteriorated from weathering, however the apparent repair work since 1994 may be the reason why the lines are now so indistinct.

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GRAFFITI and PROTECTION MARKS

FUTHER READING

HAMPSHIRE FIELD CLUB & ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY HERE

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Church Graffiti; Protection Mark; Marian Mark

All photos: Keith Salvesen

BROCKENHURST . HANTS . ST NICHOLAS – Scratch Dial

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ST NICHOLAS . BROCKENHURST . HANTS

GRADE II* ❖ C12; chancel, porch late C13; enlargements; late C19 / early C20 restorations. Excellent late Norman south door. C12 font. The oldest church in the New Forest. The village and church have great military significance. WW1: a Military Hospital for severe casualties of non-British soldiers. WW2: Divisional HQ for planning D-Day. Large churchyard, commemorative graves, and a fine memorial. The church contains a moving exhibition of the wartime history. Queen Mary visited and seeing that Sikhs were lacking turbans, supplied them; and seeing broom handles being used as crutches, supplied walking sticks. 50.8146 / -1.5681 / SU305017

DIAL

The dial is on E jamb of S Porch, late C13. The right side is concealed by render of some sort. Despite erosion, it is possible to make out 8 lines. Iron gnomon remnant protruding.

ARG visited in June 1924. He detected part of an indistinct circle, but 100 years later there is no trace. He noted that the style-hole retains its metal gnomon, broken off and projecting very slightly. The original? It is rare enough to find remnants of metal in a gnomon hole, let alone (if ever) to be able to identify one as pre-1600.

Amusingly innovative metal gnomon. Clungungford . Salop

A special gravestone

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Dial with gnomon remnant

All photos: Keith Salvesen

UZERCHE . CORRÈZE . ABBATIALE ST PIERRE – Early Scratch / Mass Dial

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Wiki . OS

ABBATIALE ST PIERRE . UZERCHE . CORRÈZE

Records of a ‘primitive building’ on this site date from C6. Subsequent monastic development followed. The present building dates from C11 (chancel, N transept); C12 (nave); C13 (expansion). Later in its long history the Abbey survived turbulent times during the many uprisings and downfalls in France. The Abbey was restored in the early C20. There is a saying ‘He who owns a house in Uzerche has a castle in the Limousin‘

This unusually large dial is cut on the SW buttress of the imposing entrance doorway. It is too grand to be given the normal designation ‘scratch dial’. The much less used description ‘Mass dial’ seems more appropriate in this case. It is accurately cut , and within the circle the 5 radials form 6 segments in the lower half of the dial. It is in remarkably good condition apart from the damage to the lower right quadrant. Further research is needed to find a plausible date-span for the dial’s construction.

Photography: Plaxy Arthur, with many thanks; Jacques Mossot os / cc

CANFORD MAGNA . DORSET . Vertical Dial

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CANFORD MAGNA CHURCH . DORSET

VERTICAL DIAL

For the Canford Scratch Dial see HERE

GRADE I ❖ Saxon origins as cruciform chapel. Tower added c1180. Expansion C13, C14; C15 additions; C19 alterations. No dedication. A very fine and interesting church, the late Saxon work being of major importance HE. Without any doubt one of the most interesting churches in Dorset PEV. 50.7889 /  -1.956 / SZ031988

DIAL

A fine dial above the S chapel in fair condition, rather attractively decorated with lichen. The dial is canted to face S, and shows the hours and half-hours from 6am to 6pm in Roman numerals. There seems to be no record of its date, but I will try to find out.

The inscription (‘motto’) begins I PASS… (?), but it’s hard to make out more. I will add it in due course when I have the Motto Bible to hand.

Although this is a Parish Church, it lies within the grounds of Canford School. There are some unsurprising visiting restrictions. If you have an interest in early churches, you will want to spend some time investigating the interior and working out the gradual development. See PEV DORSET p171 and ff.

GSS Category: Vertical Dial; Vertical Dial on Church

All photos: Keith Salvesen

HAMPRESTON . DORSET . ALL SAINTS – Scratch Dial

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ALL SAINTS . HAMPRESTON . DORSET

GRADE II* ❖ Norman origins on Saxon site; 1261 first Rector; C14 chancel and Tower. Victorian additions and restoration. Royal Coat of Arms of George II 1754. DHCT rates as fabulously interesting. Secluded within the New Forest. 50.7888 / -1.9231 /  SZ055988

DIALS

All Saints has two adjacent dials low down on the same stone of a small buttress at the E end. One is elaborate; the other is rustic.

DIAL 1

There are 17 lines and 7 pocks within an incomplete circle. Noon seems to be indicated by 3 pocks under a shorter line. The longer line no doubt indicates the main time of observance as None.

DIAL 2

This simple dial has 2 sets of 3 pocks. The lower set would work for mid-morning to early afternoon, presumably to emphasise the main daily Mass. The upper set can only be ‘decorative’, perhaps the work of a bored sacristan practising symmetry.

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Medieval Sundial

All photos: Keith Salvesen

MILBORNE PORT . SOMERSET . Vertical Dial on chimney . 1691

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MILBORNE PORT . SOMERSET

VERTICAL DIAL

The 1691 vertical dial on the Old Post Office in the centre of the village is in an unusual position, on the south-facing side of a tall chimney. It is repositioned, and predates the later prosperity and significance of Milborne Port in C18. At one time there were several local industries. There was even a large ‘ball court’ (for a form of Fives) that still exists as a ruin; and a polo ground. The small size and the height of the dial renders it unsatisfactory for marking the passage of the day. The theory that it was moved during the expansion of the main part of the village and retained as part of the community’s history may be the most plausible explanation for its present position.

BSS record: Eroded. Markings extremely hard to make out. Hourly markings. Arabic numerals. Presumed to show 6am to 6pm. Open triangular gnomon.

As noted above, Milborne Port was once an important and prosperous village, benefiting from the London road. I have added a link below for anyone who wants to get an idea of its former significance. The village of today, while retaining much evidence of its past, seems no longer the thriving community of former times.

MILBORNE PORT BHO

GSS Category: Vertical Dial; Early Vertical Sundial; Dated Dial

All photos: Keith Salvesen

CANFORD MAGNA . DORSET . Scratch Dial

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CANFORD MAGNA CHURCH . DORSET

GRADE I ❖ Saxon origins as cruciform chapel. Tower added c1180. Expansion C13, C14; C15 additions; C19 alterations. No dedication. A very fine and interesting church, the late Saxon work being of major importance HE. Without any doubt one of the most interesting churches in Dorset PEV. 50.7889 /  -1.956 / SZ031988

See Canford’s Vertical Dial HERE

DIAL

The dial is within the porch, RHS of the door and partially obscured by a noticeboard. The original BSS record (2006) notes a filled gnomon hole with 8 radials, encircled [see diagram]. Four irregular moss-filled lines are clearly visible; a couple more are just detectable. The noticeboard stymies the sort of hopeful slantwise photo behind an obstruction that can occasionally be revealing.

BSS Diagram

Although this is a Parish Church, it lies within the grounds of Canford School. There are some unsurprising visiting restrictions. If you have an interest in early churches, you will want to spend some time investigating the interior and working out the gradual development. See PEV DORSET p171 and ff.

There is quite a lot of graffiti, much of it old but with later pupil initials etc. As a bonus, there is a good vertical dial on the apex at the E end, which will be written up separately.

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Scratch Dial within porch; Vertical Dial

All photos: Keith Salvesen

ILCHESTER . SOMERSET . ST MARY – Scratch Dial

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ST MARY MAJOR . ILCHESTER . SOMERSET

GRADE II* ❖ C13 and later, south aisle added 1870s. Three stage octagonal tower, a feature of this area of Somerset (see Barrington, Stoke St Gregory, North Curry, Podimore and Weston Bamfylde). Close by is a fine market cross with a cube dial, also found in other towns and villages locally (eg Martock, Ilchester) – separate post in due course. 51.0009 / -2.6818 / ST522226

DIAL

Without guidance, it would be easy to overlook the dial. DEH does not mention it. I only discovered it from the very informative church leaflet. Despite the clues to its position, it still took me a while to find the relocated and inverted dial, barely 2ft off the ground.

Dial details – Church Leaflet

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REVERSION

With relocated dials, especially inverted ones, it’s often worth seeing how they originally looked. This dial takes on a different appearance when righted.

The two dark areas are almost certainly the footings for a vertical sundial. The slight alignment to the right of vertical suggests a calculated angle. The leaflet note that the dial used to be high on the south wall of the nave definitely suggests a vertical dial rather than a scratch dial (which would be pointless in a high position). Seeing it in its original location, I might have described it as an inverted vertical dial with a damaged surround and erosion evident, especially RHS where faint lines can just be detected.

So, without being didactic, I can’t be sure that this is a scratch dial as opposed to a later vertical dial. All comments welcome.

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Octagonal Church Tower Somerset; Vertical Dial

All photos: Keith Salvesen

SHERBORNE SCHOOL (SSG) . DORSET . VERTICAL DIAL

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SCIENCE BUILDING DIAL

This ingenious dial is located on the south front of the school’s new science building. The Old Shirburnian Society site has a helpful ARTICLE featuring various sundials in the town: here is the relevant entry.

The vertical solar dial on the south front of the science building (opened in October 2011) includes strong references to science. Designed in green slate and stainless steel by David M. Brown of David Brown Sundials in Somerton, each of the ‘numbers’ on the dial is represented by the chemical symbol of that number (e.g., the atomic number for Hydrogen is 1, so there is an H where the 1 would be). It also includes the symbols of Cancer marking the summer solstice and Capricorn marking the winter solstice.

The photos were taken recently at two events at the school, one during the day and the other in the evening. The distance to and the height of the dial precluded clarity using a phone lens. As it has turned out, the main evening photo gives the best detail of the various elements of the dial noted above.

GSS Category: Vertical Dial; Modern Sundial; Technical Sundial; Scientific Sundial

All photos: Keith Salvesen; Descriptive material from Old Shirburnian Society