Pedestal Sundial – GAUDIUM SUB SOLE . SUNDIALS . MEDIEVAL TO MODERN

ART NOUVEAU SUNDIAL by FRANCIS BARKER with LIBERTY PEDESTAL

Published on June 12, 2024June 13, 2024 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

FRANCIS BARKER DIAL with LIBERTY ART NOUVEAU PEDESTAL

This is a gnomon-less sundial that I dug out of a pigsty at my home. I was about 10. The sty had layers of compacted earth and garden material that almost reached the top, the legacy of the previous owners. I had always wondered whether there might be hidden treasure, and eventually my curiosity got the better of me.

I gradually dug down until, suddenly, my spade hit something with a loud clonk. It took a while but eventually I was able to prise out… a prize. It has lived on as a garden ornament / flower pedestal for many years, with 4 changes of address. Eventually it has settled in Dorset.

Later – by then a BSS member – I sought advice about my dial. In due course Sue Manston included the dial in an detailed article by Jo Elsworth in the BSS Bulletin 118. Volume 33(ii) – June 2021

The author Jo Elsworth notes that similar dials have been described as ‘Antique’ and Art Deco. For the reasons she gives, the classification as Art Nouveau is the most approriate,

Also in the garden: a modern armillary sphere, watched over by Father Time

GSS Category: Horizontal Dial; Barker Sundial Plate; Liberty Sundial Pedestal; Art Nouveau Sundial.

All photos: Keith Salvesen; BSS article – Sue Manston, with thanks

ROOKERY GARDENS . STREATHAM . LONDON – Horizontal Dial

Published on January 22, 2024January 23, 2024 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

ROOKERY GARDENS . STREATHAM . LONDON

The day after Storm Isha wreaked havoc in various areas of the British Isles, there was a brief moment of sunshine during our short visit to London. We walked to the Rookery Gardens in Streatham, part of the estate of a large house that was demolished in 1912. The horizontal pedestal dial was immediately in front of us, demanding inspection. A very pleasing commemorative dial at the source of the western branch of the River Falcon, one of London’s many so-called Lost Rivers.

GSS Category: Horizontal Dial; Pedestal Dial

All photos Keith Salvesen; thanks to J & J for the productive walk

BARRINGTON COURT . SOM . HORIZONTAL DIAL

Published on January 20, 2024 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

BARRINGTON COURT . SOMERSET

Barrington Court is a fine county house near Ilminster in Somerset, now in the care of NT. There is wonderful multi-faceted dodecahedral pillar dial in front of the house that I have written about HERE.

✣

Barrington Court . Som . Horizontal Dial

✣

ROSE GARDEN DIAL

The sturdy horizontal pedestal dial stands on a double plinth in the centre of the large rose and iris garden. It has a sad recent history. In Spring 2000 the original C19 bronze dial plate by Carey was levered off and stolen. It has never been recovered.

Barrington Court . Som . Horizontal Dial after theft of plate in 2000

✣

On the bright side, a wonderful faithful reproduction by John Davis was installed in 2013, and the dial is restored to its glory for the future.

✣

It is described as an attractive horizontal dial of some complexity. The Equation of Time scale is engraved around the dial; all points of compass are shown; and it has one minute time marks BSS. These complex features can be seen clearly in the final image below.

✣

GSS Category: Horizontal Dial; Pedestal Dial

All photos: Keith Salvesen except NT / Simon Harris above

TRINITY COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE . HORIZONTAL SUNDIAL

Published on January 16, 2024January 24, 2024 by Rolling HarbourLeave a comment

Trinity College Cambridge . Sundial – view from Master’s Lodge to Great Gate (Keith Salvesen)

TRINITY COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE . GREAT COURT

THE TALE OF TWO DIALS

GRADE II ✣ 1704, dial renewed in 1795 by Edward Troughton of London. Simple stone baluster with moulded base and cap, set on 2 steps. RCHM.

The fine C18 horizontal sundial in Great Court has a long history, and an intriguing twist in its story. Over a period of 3 years I must have walked past or near it thousands of times without giving it a glance. The passage of the day was marked by the chimes of the famous clock, a sound that stays with me even today.

Trinity College Cambridge . Sundial – view towards the Master’s Lodge (Keith Salvesen)

BSS notes that the dial is showing its age to some degree. This rather weathered dial is nevertheless pleasing, equipped as it is with a sturdily elegant gnomon and some nice decorative fleurs de lys marking the half hours between its Roman numerals. The central compass has floral infill and there are Equation of Time rings running anti-clockwise which indicate whether a watch would be faster or slower than the dial.

Trinity College Cambridge . Sundial – view from above (Keith Salvesen)

The description ends with an intriguing footnote:The baluster pedestal on which the dial stands may be the same one which supported an earlier dial by John England (see BSS Register, SRN 5295). Which leads to the story of the original dial that was in place until Troughton’s renewal in 1795.

The image above shows a gnomon-less dial plate made by John England in 1704. Like the pedestal, the plate is octagonal. It was rediscovered in a cupboard in the College in 2002. BSS recorded the find as follows:

Perhaps because of its period of safe keeping, this horizontal brass dial by John England is in excellent condition, though the gnomon is missing. The engraved numerals are clear and the grooves still retain their wax infill. Small screws at the root of the style are conjectured to be pivots for an associated swinging telescope. Shows 4am to 8pm in intervals down to 1 min. Uses XII and IIII. Numerals read from outside the dial. Fleurs de lys half hour markers. Hours written in Arabic too (16-24 and 1-8) with 24 at Noon. Inscription mentions Trinity College. It is now stored in the Wren Library.