St Mary Tarrant Crawford Protection Marks – GAUDIUM SUB SOLE . SUNDIALS . MEDIEVAL TO MODERN

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.

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.