Dorset Scratch Dial – Page 7 – GAUDIUM SUB SOLE . SUNDIALS . MEDIEVAL TO MODERN

UP CERNE . DORSET – SCRATCH DIAL

Published on May 27, 2021May 4, 2022 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

UP CERNE CHURCH / CHAPEL . UNKNOWN DEDICATION

GRADE II*. Former parish church, now a private chapel in the grounds of the Manor House*. Largely rebuilt in 1870. A few C15 fragments remain. A secluded hamlet with only 2 or 3 cottages besides the Manor and its extensive lake. Excellent walking country. Hidden in a valley midway between Sherborne and Dorchester. 50.8232 / -2.4865 / ST658027

Up Cerne Church . Dorset . ‘Dorset Churches’

DIAL

The dial is quite high on a square quoin stone on the S. Nave. It is inverted and was perhaps saved as an interesting feature – and moved – during the major C19 rebuild. The stone itself is not matched by others nearby and is clearly older, with significant damage.

The dial is roughly formed, with an endearingly wonky eroded semicircle containing a curve of rather haphazard pocks. The horizontal line is clear. If there was a noon line, damage to the stone has erased it, together with (presumably) other features of the dial. It’s hard to tell if the striations in the damaged quadrant evidence radials.

*The Manor House and its grounds are private. There is no public access to the church, which is barely visible from the road. I was fortunate (being local) to be able to gain permission to visit. This is not a dial worth visiting on the off-chance

GSS Category: Scratch Dial

All photos Keith Salvesen except the church – Dorset Churches online

TOLLER PORCORUM . DORSET . ST ANDREW & ST PETER – TWO SCRATCH DIALS

Published on May 26, 2021June 1, 2021 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

ST ANDREW and ST PETER † TOLLER PORCORUM . DORSET

GRADE II*. C14 chancel & nave; C15 W. tower, N. porch. Much of interest in the church of the village of swine (or possibly wild boar). Font, bells, gargoyles, ‘dropped’ chancel, and a fine stained glass millennial sundial. Midway between Dorchester (S.E.) and Crewkerne (N.W.) 50.7799 / -2.6224 / SY562979

DIALS

Two adjacent dials – one doubtful – high up on a quoin stone on the N. aisle. Dial 1 is definitely a dial, though hard to see for erosion, lichen and height. Dial 2 is a possible dial with a style hole, but no longer other visible dial attributes if there ever were any. The stone has plainly been relocated.

Besides being relocated, the orientation of the dial suggests it is inverted or possibly – as GLP suggests – rotated by 90º. He detected 4 pock marks in or close to the upper-left quadrant (see BSS diagram above). I did not notice them and they are only faintly visible in my photos (taken with my camera held above my head), highlighted in image 1 below. I did detect 4 faint lines / partial lines. The overall configuration (image 2) would make better sense if the stone were rotated 90º anticlockwise.

Dial with pocks highlighted; dial with lines added

*St Andrew and St Peter . Toller Porcorum . Dorset – Scratch Dial(s) – annotated pock & line images*

As for possible Dial 2, GLP suggests it might have been a practice style hole or an earlier discontinued attempt at a dial. It’s hard to see why a such a very slightly different location was thought better, though. My amateur theory is that the stone was originally on the S. side, set at 90º anticlockwise, with the time-telling part of the true dial being (as often) in the lower left quadrant. The (then) upper hole might have been an earlier very basic time of day indicator – just a stick in a hole to cast a shadow without the need for refinements.

LINKS for information about the church, the village and its history:

BLB TOLLER PORCORUM

BRITAIN EXPRESS TOLLER PORCORUM

The charming stained glass millennial sundial is a striking addition to an already attractive building. It features on GSS in a different dial category, but it merits inclusion here. [Secretly, this is the dial I prefer]

St Andrew and St Peter . Toller Porcorum . Dorset – Stained Glass Millennial Sundial

GSS Category: Scratch Dial

All photos – Keith Salvesen

PIDDLEHINTON . DORSET . ST MARY – TWO SCRATCH DIALS

Published on May 19, 2021May 19, 2021 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

ST MARY † PIDDLEHINTON . DORSET

GRADE 1. C15 tower, S. aisle; C16 chancel, nave, S. porch; C19 restoration, additions. Mainly perp style. 6 miles N.E. of Dorchester. 50.7733 / -2.4045 / SY715971

DIALS

Two adjacent but very different scratch dials on the S.E. buttress of the tower. The image above shows how they are composed on the buttress. There are also two vertical dials, one Old (1794) the other Modern. There is a plausible third scratch dial – see below.

DIAL 1

More than twenty pocks in a varied configuration, with a concentration in the UL quadrant. 3 rings are evident there, and the pattern of the pocks suggests that 3 circles were once complete. A number of faint and indistinct radials, with emphasised vertical (noon) and horizontal lines. GLP points out significant variation in the hours in the divisions marking the hours.

DIAL 2

This is a busy dial for the amateur to interpret. GLP concludes for several reasons that it is later than Dial 1. He suggests that the 2 ‘iron stubs’ may evidence an attempt to update (add sophistication to?) the dial by adding a gnomon. The large photo in the gallery shows the debatable ‘style and single noon line’ dial – see notes

St Mary . Piddlehinton . Dorset . Scratch Dial 2

DIAL 3?

A plausible third scratch dial is incorporated in the lower dial (noted as ‘doubtful’ elsewhere). I have come across these before, and most certainly appear to be dials of the simplest kind. A clear and deliberate vertical line leading downwards from an apparent style hole suggests a noon line cut below a style. At the most basic level, this would function as a marker of the passage of the day. The overall configuration on the buttress suggests a progression in sophistication from that early marker. So I prefer ‘plausible’ to ‘doubtful’.

GSS Category: Scratch Dial

All photos: Keith Salvesen

BATCOMBE . DORSET – ST MARY MAGDALENE . SCRATCH DIAL (unrecorded)

Published on May 3, 2021May 28, 2021 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

DEDICATION † St Mary Magdalene. C15 (on the site of a ?C11 church). Mid C18 rebuilding / restoration (after collapsed chancel). A few early fittings. Screen, font, bells, wall tablets of note. Fragment of stone in middle S. buttress of chancel with pre-conquest interlacement BHO

LISTING † Grade I (Pevsner Dorset 106; BHO)

LOCATION † Remote extended hamlet deep in farming country a few miles SW. of Sherborne and NE. of Dorchester. Nestled under the north flank of a long ridge. Reached by lanes to N. and a very steep narrow lane down from the ridge. The church is immediately below, set into the hillside. 50.8331, -2.543, ST618038

Batcombe . Dorset . St Mary Magdalene . Scratch Dial

DIAL † Previously unrecorded. On the SW. face of the NE. buttress of the tower, about 4′ high. An encircled rustic dial with 2 clear radials, 3 less defined and at least one trace line (see annotated image below). Others lines may have eroded. The style hole is mortared (as so often) so tracing the centre point is not possible. In any case, while the circle is accurately incised, the rest of the dial is randomly cut.

The noon-line (if intended as such) is a diameter rather than radius, cut straight to the style hole and bent below it. There are some pocks on the dial stone, 3 of which may relate to the dial itself. The dots at each end of (non-)vertical diameter line suggest an approximate noon-line rather than 2 separate radials.

Batcombe . Dorset . St Mary Magdalene . Scratch Dial (annotated)

NOTES † A small ritual protection mark – a tiny shield-shaped face – to the right of the entrance door. Such apotropaic symbols were carved or scratched usually by a door or window or in the porch to prevent evil from entering the church and to repel it from the vicinity

Ritual Protection Mark / *Apotropaic* Symbol / ‘Witch Mark’, Batcombe . Dorset . St Mary Magdalene

GSS Category: Scratch Dial

All photos Keith Salvesen

MAIDEN NEWTON . DORSET . ST MARY . SCRATCH DIAL

Published on April 27, 2021April 28, 2021 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

DEDICATION † St Mary. Mid C12 / earlier foundation; main development C15; C19 restoration

LISTING † Grade I

LOCATION † 8 miles NE. of Dorchester, 12 miles SE. of Yeovil, in the valley below the A37 racetrack. Hardy’s ‘Chalknewton’. More of a small town than a village, with a few shops, a garage and a station rather than (as elsewhere locally) a single shop and a halt. 50.7775 2.5727 SY597977

St Mary . Maiden Newton . Dorset . Scratch Dial on Chancel doorway

DIAL † On arch stone, E. side of chancel door. GLP dates as early C15, with a ‘rough arc of 5 holes across 2 stones’. I was at a loss to see how this dial could have worked with such a shallow arc and without a style hole. However GLP points out that the arc’s approximate centre lies in a joint between 2 stones, so subsequent repointing presumably covered up the hole

NOTES † There is a fine sundial on S. face of tower, square slab with simple capping, iron gnomon and date 1630 BHO. See OLD DIAL menu LINK

GSS Category: Scratch Dial

All photos : Keith Salvesen

STRATTON, DORSET – ST MARY

Published on April 12, 2021April 16, 2021 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

DEDICATION † ST MARY THE VIRGIN C12 origins, re-fenestration & expansion in C15.
West Tower C15. Chancel rebuilt in 1891, north porch added: ‘date of drastic restoration’ BLB

LISTING † GRADE I

LOCATION † 3 miles NW. of Dorchester in the Frome valley, and thankfully set back from the race track of the A37. A charming church, a village green, and an agreeable pub The Saxon are happily contiguous. 50.7425 / -2.4958 / SY651937

St Mary . Stratton . Dorset . Scratch Dial

DIAL † W. jamb of the blocked S. door, inverted, and with 4 discernible lines. The muddle of stones in and around the doorway helps to explain repositioning. GLP suggests that the crossing line ‘may be an attempt to mark Tierce’.

DIAL 2? A POSSIBLE CANDIDATE

Close to the featured scratch dial recessed inside the blocked doorway, there is a larger stone on the outer jamb with a possible second dial. There are 2 clear radials converging on the mortar line, one long and one shorter. If a second dial, it is also inverted. It seems later than its companion. The amount of obvious reworking of the doorway area over time might explain the move of the dial stone.

The 12th-century S. doorway, now blocked, has chamfered jambs of two orders, a round head to the outer and a rebuilt segmental head to the inner order; the label is chamfered BHO

St Mary . Stratton . Dorset . Scratch Dial (possible, unrecorded) — St Mary . Stratton . Dorset . Scratch Dial – possibly…

NOTES † BHO highlights the bells: five; 1st recast at the Closworth foundry, 1753; 2nd by Thomas Purdue, 1695; 3rd by Thomas Purdue, 1658; 4th by Roger Purdue, 1627; 5th by George Purdue, 1619. C13 font.

GSS Category: Scratch Dial

All photos: Keith Salvesen

CHESELBOURNE . DORSET . ST MARTIN – Scratch Dial, Old Dial (1631)

Published on April 8, 2021September 3, 2022 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

DEDICATION † ST MARTIN . Late C13 / early C14; tower C15. S. porch (dial location) C1500 HE, BLB

LISTING † GRADE I

A WONDERFUL CANONICAL DIAL IN DEEPEST DORSET

St Martin . Cheselbourne . Dorset . Scratch Dial

LOCATION † Seven miles NE. of Dorchester. Hidden in a dip in the remote folds of Dorset’s undulating downs, Cheselbourne (Ceseburne DB) is accessible only by narrow lanes. It is well worthwhile if you can understand the signposts well enough to reach the village. 50.7954 / -2.3388 / SY762995

DIAL † A remarkable dial, ‘the most carefully cut and complete specimen of a medieval dial in Dorset’ EEC.

On S. wall, scratch dial.’ BLB – a scant note and considerable understatement. The 1631 sundial on the porch (see below) is better served

St Martin . Cheselbourne . Dorset . Scratch Dial gallery – left, central, right & complete

GLP dates this complex dial as late C15 / early C16, with 25 lines & 26 holes. ‘Each line ends in a hole, the vertical line being marked by 2 holes. The lines alternate in length, a long line running to the gnomon hole with a short line fitting in the angle between 2 of the long lines. The long lines accurately measure the hours; the short lines the half hours’.

Chancellor (ECC) noted crosses halfway along 2 lines, shown in his drawing of 1939. GLP could not trace these in 1996.

St Martin . Cheselbourne . Dial Drawing . Chancellor

St Martin . Cheselbourne . Dorset . Scratch Dial – S. Porch and obligatory drainpipe

NOTES † Above south porch arch, rectangular stone slab with Roman numerals, inscribed HC 1631 WM, with wrought iron gnomon (HE, BHO) LINK ; also a fine C15 churchyard cross with limestone 3-step plinth and Ham stone treads RCHM

The dial is flush with the wall above the South porch. There is a flat strip gnomon with ‘S’ supporter. The gnomon angle is 56 degrees to wall. Face very weathered. Shows 6am to 6pm in half hours. Noon numeral or mark worn away as are many hour lines, IIII for 4pm. Few half hour marks visible. Inscription: “HC 1631 WM” (initials of the Church Wardens)

GSS Category: Scratch Dial

All photos – Keith Salvesen

THREE VALLEYS BENEFICE: DORSET SCRATCH DIALS

Published on March 24, 2021March 25, 2021 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

*St Mary the Virgin . Hermitage . Dorset*

SCRATCH DIALS IN DORSET

SIX CHURCHES IN THE THREE VALLEYS BENEFICE IN WEST DORSET

PURSE CAUNDLE, DORSET – ST PETER

Published on March 18, 2021September 6, 2021 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

DEDICATION † ST PETER – C15, later works & additions

LISTING † GRADE I

LOCATION † S. of A30 between Henstridge & Milborne Port; or reached from S. by a complex network of lanes (map suggested). A notable E-shape C15 Manor House. St Peter is a most attractive example of a typical Dorset church. 50.9569 / -2.4342 / ST696175

St Peter . Purse Caundle . Dorset – Scratch Dial

DIAL † NW. corner of Nave, conveniently by a drainpipe (as so often) for size comparison. Repositioned during building BSS. 5 distinct radials, encircled, 13 pocks including 2 doubles and a triple indicating significant hours. Location and lichen complicate inspection.

St Peter . Purse Caundle . Dorset . Dial Diagram BSS

St Peter . Purse Caundle . Dorset – Scratch Dial Details

NOTES † Nearby STOURTON CAUNDLE (link to come) has a C18 sundial with gnomon on the tower and (worth the visit) an excellent display of graffiti and apotropaic (‘witch’) marks in and around the porch. BISHOPS CAUNDLE has a badly eroded scratch dial, featured HERE

GSS Category -Scratch Dial

All photos -Keith Salvesen

POYNTINGTON . DORSET – ALL SAINTS . Scratch Dial (unrecorded)

Published on March 9, 2021May 3, 2021 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

DEDICATION † ALL SAINTS – C12 nave, C14 main church, C19 restoration / modern chancel

LISTING † GRADE I

LOCATION † 2 miles N. of Sherborne in a secluded valley beyond Oborne. Fine lynchet systems on the hillsides. A real feel of history here, with a magnificent manor house, tithe barn, former court house, and the church on a slope above the village. 50.9781 / -2.4996 / ST650199

NOTES † Unrecorded dial, relocated and inverted N. porch.

DIAL † No known record of a dial at this church. Checked because local & ‘early’. Approached by path from N., dial visible upper L side of N. porch. Clearly relocated and inverted in the process. 3 clean-cut radials across 2 stones, evenly spaced but differing lengths. Filled style hole. The image of the porch shows the disproportion of this uniform block of relocated stone to the rest of the porch.