Medieval Dial – GAUDIUM SUB SOLE . Scratch Dials . Sundials . Medieval to Modern

KINGSDON . SOMERSET – All Saints

Published on April 13, 2026April 14, 2026 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

ALL SAINTS . KINGSDON . SOMERSET

GRADE II* ❖ Dates from C13th; Original N tower replaced C15 with W tower; revisions and renovation until full restoration 1869, with further work 1906. Local lias. Halfway between Ilchester / Somerton. 51.0331 / -2.692 / ST515262

DIALS

DEH visited on Oct 1st 2014. He found 3 dials and gave a longer account than usual. Dial 1 is on E buttress of the Tower, at head height. Dial 2 is on W side of S porch. The 3rd dial is low down within the porch, on E side.

There is also a rather splendid though much worn vertical dial high up on the same buttress as Dial 1. DEH either missed it (because he was examining the south side at usual dial level); or perhaps he saw it and decided it was outside the scope of his scrutiny (see below).

DIAL 1

There are 8 radials. The configuration suggests a noon arrangement of 5 lines with quite accurate spacing and line length. The other 3 radials seem to have been added rather rustically RHS at a later date. The plugged gnomon hole is still discernible in the mortar line.

DIAL 2

I either forgot to photograph this dial, or my camera and I had a misunderstanding. The dial is on W side of S porch. DEH noted: It is 5 feet 5 inches above the ground, the noonline is about 5 inches in length, and the style hole is open and badly shaped.

DIAL 3

The dial is within the present porch, RHS of the the original church door. Before the outer porch was added, the dial may have served well as a time-of-day checker for passers-by, or perhaps for an Acolyte to keep an eye on before ringing the bell for a service. Later, it becomes decoration.

VERTICAL DIAL

The dial is unusually high up for a country church, and the finer details must have been rather lost on viewers. It is now badly damaged and in need of some TLC before it flakes away. I will probably write it up for my Vertical Dial page, however of interest include: the simple horizontal iron gnomon; the carefully graduated lines; the numbers being within a frame; and the use of IIII for IV.

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Scratch Dial within Porch; Somerset Scratch Dials; Vertical Dial

All photos: Keith Salvesen / Rolling Harbour

KEINTON MANDEVILLE . SOMERSET – St Mary Magdelene

Published on April 9, 2026April 13, 2026 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

ST MARY MAGDALENE . KEINTON MANDEVILLE . SOMERSET

GRADE II ✢ C13 chancel; remainder C19. C12 font. Local lias stone prettily incised PEV. Tower so simple it could be early C20 BHO. Midway between Somerton and Castle Cary. 51.068 / -2.647 / ST547300

DIALS

DEH visited on May 26th 1914. He recorded two dials close together on the quoins on SE corner, one above the other. These differ quite markedly. Dial 1, the lower, is simple though not rustic. A few inches above, Dial 2 is more sophisticated, presumably cut to improve on the earlier dial.

DIAL 1

The lower of the 2 dials is straightforward. 3 radials descend for from a large (now) gnomon hole. The noon line is flanked by a line either side. The spacing is more or less accurate. The line of dots on the radial RLQ, if deliberate, may have been Mass-markers for the main time of observance – after noon.

DIAL 2

This dial has 5 radials (perhaps 6) and a large quite deep gnomon hole. Two almost vertical lines are deeper cut and end in small holes. This arrangement suggests noon may have been the Mass-time, marked from mid morning. The most interesting feature is the faint arc of a circle RHS. In places, there is the hint of a secondary circle. One must presume that at one time the rings were complete but are long-since worn away.

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Time-marking; Somerset Scratch Dials

All photos: Keith Salvesen / Rolling Harbour

BABCARY . SOMERSET – Holy Cross

Published on March 11, 2026March 13, 2026 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

CHURCH OF THE HOLY CROSS . BABCARY . SOMERSET

GRADE II* ❖ Early origins; mainly C14 / C15; additions C19 (inc. Ferrey). PEV gives this small church quite a detailed entry. This is lias stone country. The building, the churchyard, and the setting make this a fine country church. There are 2 scratch dials. Visited by DEH on 10 Sept 1912. 12m N of Yeovil. 51.0566 / -2.6271 / ST561287

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DIAL 1

On a quoin stone W side of S porch, the gnomon hole easily seen. DEH calls it a faint scratchy dial, and thought that the hole may still contain the style. He seems not to have checked; later in his dialing project, he would have. There’s no trace now.

DIAL 2

A few inches above Dial 1 is an indistinct dial, noted by DEH. But for his careful records, no one would notice it now, a century later. 4 faint and somewhat wonky radials can just be made out LLQ, descending from a shallow hole now covered by lichen. This has a slight bluish tinge suggestive of a copper rod being used as a gnomon, a speculation too far.

GGS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Somerset Scratch Dial

All photos: Keith Salvesen / Rolling Harbour

DINDER . SOMERSET – St Michael

Published on January 21, 2026January 22, 2026 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

ST MICHAEL . DINDER . SOMERSET

GRADE II* ❖ Norman origins, C14 work, rebuilt C15, restored 1872. An attractive church both outside and in. Visited by DEH on 6 Oct 1911 on one of his early dial expeditions from Downside Abbey. Roughly halfway between Wells and Shepton Mallet. 51.199 / -2.6094 / ST575446

DIAL

DEH recorded a single dial on W corner of S aisle. He noted a 2.5 inch deep gnomon hole, and commented ‘…this dial is cut on soft red sandstone and has all 12 hour lines… many of them probably added to the original design’. More than 100 years later, only 9 are legible.

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Dial erosion

All photos: Keith Salvesen / Rolling Harbour

LAMYATT . SOMERSET – St Mary and St John

Published on January 10, 2026January 11, 2026 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

GRADE II* ❖ C13 – C15; C19 restoration (some by T H Wyatt). Quite large, with nave, chancel, north and south porches, south vestry, west tower. Predominantly Perp. Busy history and plenty to look at, approval by PEV. 10m N of Castle Cary; 16m S of Shepton Mallet 51.124 / -2.4854 / ST661361

DIALS

There are 3 dials (one unrecorded?). W of the porch, low down on a relocated quoin stone, there are 2 interesting near-overlapping dials cut on W face. This is a good example of ‘dials ancient and modern’: a small early dial – simple and rustic – superseded by a later dial cut with attention to detail. The 3rd dial is on the buttress E of the porch.

DEH visited the church on 16 October 1913 . By now he was using a camera to photograph selected dials, including Lamyatt. The quality of his images is surprisingly good. He also used a motorcycle to extend the scope of his researches from Downside Abbey. More about this extraordinary monk in due course.

Note: single ‘t’ Lamyatt; plugged gnomon hole, now invisible

DIALS 1 and 2

DEH visited the church on 16 October 1913 and recorded dials 1 & 2.

DIAL 1. This small dial has 3 radials emerging from a now undetectable gnomon hole in the corner of the mortar line ULQ. The deeper cut and crudely bent line RHS suggests that the main canonical hour for observance was Nones. In due course a replacement dial was called for.

DIAL 2

DIAL 2. On the same quoin stone, also W-facing, a later and far more practical dial was cut. 4 radials the same length fan out from a gnomon hole in the mortar line (the original plug?). These are arranged within a minor arc, and scale up both in width and depth LHS to RHS. The overall effect indicates competence and care by the maker.

The radials each end in a dot (one is barely detectable). The line spacing of the dial in its original position arrangement is a puzzle. In a literal way, noon would be exactly between lines 2 and 3, as sometimes found on other churches.

DIAL 3

On the buttress E of porch, at head height, a dial with 2 long lines descending from a mortar line that has a hint of a gnomon hole. It seems to be in its original position. Presumably the vertical mortar line – now a crack – acted as the noon line dividing the 2 radials from the smaller quoin stone.

OTHER MARKS OF INTEREST

GSS Category: Displaced dial; Dial facing W; Dial pairs; Dom Ethelbert Horne photographs; Scratch Dials Somerset

All photos: Keith Salvesen except the one taken by DEH in 1913

RIPE . EAST SUSSEX – St John the Baptist

Published on September 4, 2025 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

ST JOHN THE BAPTIST . RIPE

GRADE 1 ❖ C13 traces, mainly C14, C15. C19 restorations. Little information HE / BLB, but this link is informative https://sussexparishchurches.org/church/ripe-st-john-the-baptist/. One of a cluster of interesting churches in the area. 8 miles E of Lewes. 50.8684 / 0.15 / TQ513098

DIALS

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DIAL 1

The church is said to have 3 dials, though I could only find 2 definite ones. The first is very rough, with ?2 lines dropping down from a plugged hole, and some scrapes around the area. It’s hard to see how it marked the course of the day effectively. The hardness of the stone may explain it.

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DIAL 2

An intriguing dial in quadrant form, and cut on a shaped stone re-sited from elsewhere on the church. The images below show the dial as it is now, located URQ – the least effective location for marking the passage of today.

Two orientations could have worked: as a morning dial (LLQ) or an afternoon dial (RLQ). But then the stone would have needed to be recut…

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DIAL 3?

I did not find a definite 3rd dial, but on an adjacent stone to the others is one with a mix of holes. Two have faint lines / possible radials. If I had to choose one, it would be top left. Any helpful views welcome.

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Lost Dial

All photos: Keith Salvesen

WINTERBOURNE STEEPLETON . DORSET . ST MICHAEL – Scratch Dials (revisited)

Published on March 12, 2025 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

ST MICHAEL . WINTERBOURNE STEEPLETON . DORSET

GRADE I † A fine early church in a lovely setting. C11 quoins to nave; C12 nave rebuilt; C14 3-stage W tower, porch; C15 chancel. Later alterations, restorations. Just W of Dorchester, yet seeming miles away in its peaceful valley. Visit Winterbourne Monkton while you are there (2 perhaps 3 dials). 50.7067 / -2.5266 / SY629898

DIALS

Two dials are recorded. I last visited this church more than 2 years ago, in early evening sunshine but with shadows on the church. I have recently been back in better light to re-photograph the main dial; and to check for another rudimentary dial noted on the S buttress of the tower in a 1997 survey. I didn’t find it on my first visit.

DIAL 1

Dial 1 is located on a SW quoin stone of the nave. When examined in the 1990’s it was noted to be ‘behind a drainpipe’, which is no longer the case. By strange coincidence, when I revisited, the rest of the drainpipes were being repaired and repainted.

This is a straightforward 4-line morning dial with a pleasingly casual approach to straight lines. The two deeper incised lines suggest that late morning was the significant time of the day for observance.

DIAL 2

Dial 2 is so simple that I cannot claim to have discovered it this time round. It was recorded as being on S buttress of the tower, with 1 line a mere 45mm long, a small gnomon hole, and a pock LLQ . It was noted in 1997 as ‘very faint’. Although Dial 1 is mentioned in several places (eg BHO), I have found no additional reference to this tiny time marker. So for the second time I failed to find it, even in sunlight. However, a drawing was made and is all I can offer.

Do see the Saxon statue mentioned in the notice below (there is a similar one in Bradford on Avon), and indeed spend some time inside this interesting church.

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Eroded Dial

All photos Keith Salvesen; diagrams BSS

MINSTER LOVELL . OXON . ST KENELM – Scratch Dial

Published on March 10, 2025March 10, 2025 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

St Kenelm . Minster Lovell . John Renner

ST KENELM . MINSTER LOVELL . OXON

GRADE I ✣ Entirely rebuilt in the mid-15th century, incorporating earlier foundations and materials. C15 font and pews. Other details of the interior at BLB. Behind the church are ruins of its predecessor. 51.8001 / -1.5315 / SP324113

DIAL

The dial consists of an incomplete circle of 9 holes, and no radials. There are a couple of eroded marks at the top that might have been linked to the design. A pleasingly small, neat dial.

LOCATION

The dial is on the buttress on L corner of N transept chapel, to the left of entrance porch. It was obviously repositioned at some time, given its orientation and the dissimilarity of the stone to those around it.

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Relocated Dial

Photos: John Renner with thanks, except 2 ACNY cc/os

ODDINGTON . GLOS . ST NICHOLAS – 3 Scratch Dials

Published on March 7, 2025March 7, 2025 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

ODDINGTON . GLOS . ST NICHOLAS

Grade I ✣ C12 origin; gradual expansion to C15 (see BHO diagram); C19 restorations. Much of interest within, esp vast mid-C14 Doom wall painting on north wall of nave. Of note: stone bench seats within porch with incised lines where yeomen are reputed to have sharpened their arrows (cf Gnosall Staffs). In 1291 the rectory was valued at £14 13s. 4d. The extremely informative Evenlode Churches website is recommended – a model of its kind. 51.928 / -1.6598 / SP234255

DIALS

There are 3 dials in a cluster on W face of the porch. The first is very visible and detailed, undoubtedly the latest. The second is a semi-circle type, fanned out beneath the mortar line. The third is little more than a trace between the two, perhaps a test scratching or passing whim.

DIAL 1

DIAL 1 has a sizable gnomon hole, enlarged over tIme. The noon line is emphasised by being cut beyond the circle boundary; it also marks Sext. The emphatic horizontal incision RHS suggests that sunset (nocturns; compline) was a significant hour for observance. There are 4, possibly 5, faint lines URQ – probably rustic knife / nail scratchings rather than part of the original dial.

DIALS 2 and 3

DIAL 2 has 6 lines radiating from the mortar line. The discrepancy between the line spacing LLQ and LRQ was perhaps an attempt to correct the shadow-fall angle of the sun in the later part of the day.

DIAL 3 is as close to not being a dial as it could be. However, there is a badly cut line at approximately noon; and (anticlockwise) a line approximately at None. There’s also a hint that a gnomon might have been in the vertical mortar line above the horizontal.

GSS Category: Scratch Dial; Mass Dial; Dial Cluster; Medieval Doom Painting

CREDITS: All main photos, John Renner; header Mike Baldwin Geo cc

MARTIN . HANTS . ALL SAINTS

Published on December 1, 2024December 2, 2024 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

ALL SAINTS . MARTIN . WILTS

GRADE I † Early C12 origins; C13 chancel, tower; C14 / C15 transepts; other works then & later inc C18 spire, C19 restorations. A striking building in a small village just off the A354 Salisbury – Blandford Forum. Clock installed in honour of Winston Churchill 50.9754 / -1.9009 / SU070195

DIALS

All Saints is a multiple dial church, with 8 listed in the BSS records. My dial count is 9. It’s a fine church, and dial-hunting was an easy pleasure. I have decided to let the dials speak for themselves without undue commentary on individual characteristics unless called for. Below the dials is an excellent article by the Hampshire Field Club that analyses all you need to know about each dial, and in particular the locations (for which I lost my notes).

BSS RECORDS