The BSS Bulletin

The Bulletin is the journal of the British Sundial Society. It comprises scientific and other papers, mainly contributed by society members and covering their fields of interest. It also carries reports of the principal society meetings and reviews of relevant books and papers from other journals. It is published four times a year in distinctive yellow covers; each number at the moment contains 48 full-colour pages. Members all receive their own copy and copies are kept in certain specialized libraries.

I will be glad to receive articles or other material related to sundials for consideration for publication in the Bulletin. For advice on preparing material for inclusion in the Bulletin please see Guidelines for Contributors

Dr J Davis - BSS Editor. Contact details are here

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Contents

A complete list of Contents from 1989 to the present issue can be downloaded here. (MS Word .DOC file 309 KB)
The contents of the last few Bulletins are given here to show the variety of articles that are included in each issue. Some of the articles from the Bulletin are available as PDF files - just click on the links. All articles are copyright of the BSS and their authors.

85. Volume 25(i) March 2013

1. Editorial
2. Astronomy and Solar Symbolism in the Basilica of San Miniato al Monte in Florence - Simone Bartolini & Marco Pierozzi
8. A West Indies Dial by Thomas Wright - Maciej Lose
14. Phil Rogers-Obituary - Christopher Daniel
15. The Lesser-known Dials at Barrington Court - Peter Ransom
16. In the Footsteps of Thomas Ross. Part 4: The hidden sundials of South Queensferry - Dennis Cowan
18. Postcard Potpourri 25-Floral Dials - Peter Ransom
19. The Science Fair at Preston-June 2012 - Graham Aldred
20. Report on the Greek Dial From Delos Stored in The Louvre (Ma 4823) - Jérôme Bonnin and Denis Savoie
23. The Singleton Dial - Tony Wood
24. The First International Conference on Sun-dials - Anthony Turner
25. Horologia et Solaria. Instrumentation of Time in the Roman Empire: Lille 3 University, 29 March 2013 - Jérôme Bonnin
26. Dickensian Dials - John Wall
28. A Palimpsest Gnomon - John Davis
29. A 12th-century Manuscript Indian Circle Diagram - John Davis
30. The Duncraggan Stone - Alastair Hunter (PDF 727 KB)
33. Frank King wins the Sawyer Dialing Prize
34. The Dials of Middle Verdon - Mike Cowham
37. An Unusual Geographical Sundial - Ian Butson
39. An Interesting Scottish Slate Dial
40. Book Review-De Cursu Solis by Mario Arnaldi - Andrew James
41. Dial Dealings 2012 - Mike Cowham
44. Readers' Letters - Orders et al, Drinkwater
45. Thomas Boleyn's Slate Sundial - John Davis
46. A Short Trip to Canada for Sundials - Valery Dmitriev
48. A Holographic Sundial - John Davis

84. Volume 24(iv) December 2012

1. Editorial
2. Lost and Found. The long journey of an unusual sundial - Peter Kunath
5. Haddon Hall Horizontal Dial - Tony Wood
6. In the Footsteps of Thomas Ross. Part 3: The sundials of James Gifford - Dennis Cowan
9. Blemish or Blessing? - John Lester
11. Readers’ Letters - Lowne, Woodbury
12. The Equatorial Dials of Kloppenburgh & Cremer - Mike Cowham
15. New Dials
16. Summertime Noon Dial - Tony Wood
17. Postcard Potpourri 24. St Peter’s, Bexhill, East Sussex - Peter Ransom
18. An Excavated Lead Sundial - John Davis
20. Window Reflections - Michael Lowne
21. The Strangest Place for a Sundial? - Dennis Cowan
22. North-facing Mass Dials - Jackie Jones
23. Mapping Greco-Roman Sundials using GIS - Shaul Adam and Jérôme Bonnin
26. Nine Newly Reported Dials - John Foad
28. BSS Newbury Meeting, 22 September 2012 - Sue Manston
30. Building a Sundial at Chestnut Cottage - Richard and Judy Cecil
34. The Restoration of a 19th Century Noon Cannon Sundial - Malcolm Barnfield
36. BSS Sundial Safari to Catalonia, 13–18 September 2012 - V. Cowham, Butson, M & J Jenkins, Honey, Bateman & Payne
40. The Celtic Quartet Re-visited and Augmented - Tony Wood and Johan Wikander
41. Helical Sundials - John Davis
41. Mosque of Uqba - JD
42. Secure Fixings and Fastenings for Sundials - Tony Moss
46. Utile et Dulce - Aleksandr Bolyrev
47. The Meridies Media Greenwich Noon Dial - Christopher Daniel (PDF 521 KB)

83. Volume 24(iii) September 2012

1. Editorial
2. A Standing Stone and its Possible Astronomical Alignment—Using seasonal shadow and light displays in the Neolithic - Daniel Brown
6. Reader’s Letter - Drinkwater
7. Check-in at Noon—A noon dial with analemma at an airport check-in desk - Douglas Bateman
8. The Stereographic Projection and Quadrant by Henry Sutton - Michael Lowne and John Davis
15. Postcard Potpourri 23—Churchill, Somerset - Peter Ransom
15. Gnomon Supporter - Mike Cowham
16. In the Footsteps of Thomas Ross. Part 2: The sundials at Craigiehall - Dennis Cowan
18. BSS Group photograph — Cheltenham, 2012
19. Cathedral Mass Dials - Tony Wood
20. The Planispheric Nocturnal - Mike Cowham
21. The Clock and the Sundial - JD
22. Lost Bonar Dial Resurfaces (Briefly!) - John Davis
23. A Dutch Manuscript Showing Polyhedral Dials - Heilke van der Wijk and John Davis
26. New Dials - Brown, James
28. Upton Manor Farm, Cambs - JD
29. The Tyttenhanger Sundial - Geoffrey Lane
32. The Old Meeting House, Norwich - JD
33. The Sundials of Gerald Laing - Dennis Cowan
34. Obituary—Peter Hingley (1951-2012)
35. Decorative Dials - Tony Wood
36. A Medieval Equinoctial Dial Excavated at St James’s Priory, Bristol - John Davis and Cai Mason (PDF 534 KB)
40. Holbein’s Cylinder Dial - JD
41. Mosque of the Sun II: Crown of Doha - Sara Shafiei and Ben Cowd
43. Early 19th-century English Drawings of Greek Dials - John Davis and Jérôme Bonnin
45. Exhibition of Sundials, North Oxford - Douglas Bateman
46. An Equatorial Sundial with EOT Adjustment: Update - Roger Bunce

82. Volume 24(ii) June 2012

1. Editorial
2. Gaocheng Calendrical Observatory, China - Allan Mills
8. Samuel Saunders. A study of a London sundial maker – Part 2 - Maciej Lose
12. A Very Early Description of a Horizontal Dial in English - John Davis
16. Childrens Sundial Competition - Valery Dmitriev
17. The Scoreboard Sundial - John Foad
18. Sonnenkompass 41 - Kuno Gross & Malcolm Barnfield
20. Sundials in GCSE Astronomy - Julien King
21. Lego Equatorial Dial
22. The Brunson Universal Sun Compass - David Le Conte (PDF 476 KB)
24. Meccano Butterfield Dial
25. Minutes of the 23rd BSS Annual General Meeting, Cheltenham, 15 April 2012
30. Postcard Potpourri 22 – Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow - Peter Ransom
31. In the Footsteps of Thomas Ross. Pt. 1. Scotland's Oldest Sundials ¬– the forerunners to lectern dials? - Dennis Cowan
34. The Forsyth Sundial – Faversham - Christopher Daniel
42. Ivory Sundials of Nuremberg Incorporating a Scaphe Sundial - Ortwin Feustel
43. Another Lego Sundial
44. The Dial from the 'Palais Farnèse': Roman or Modern? - Jérôme Bonnin
46. Readers' Letters - Drinkwater, Coe, Manston
47. Book Review - John Davis
50. BSS Conference, Cheltenham, 13-15 April 2012 - Chris Lusby Taylor
52. New Dials - Michael J. Harley

81. Volume 24(i) March 2012

1. Addendum to Robert Stikford's 'De Umbris Versis et Extensis' - John Davis
2. Samuel Saunders. A study of a London sundial maker. Pt. 1 - Maciej Lose
7. New Dials - JD
8. The Canterbury Pendant. Part 2: Relationships with the Libellus' rule - Mario Arnaldi
13. A.P. Herbert put to the test - Frank Coe
14. The Dials of Saint-Hippolyte-Du-Fort, France - Mike Cowham
17. An Unrecorded Stained Glass Dial - JD
18. A Portable Horologium - John Davis
23. La Meridiana - Mark Lennox-Boyd
27. Postcard Potpourri 21: Lewes, East Sussex - Peter Ransom
28. Apparent Longitude Problems with some Scottish Sundials - Dennis Cowan
30. Gillot and Fragonard: two eighteenth century French artists' conceptions of ball sundials - Malcolm Bishop
34. Book Reviews - Barnfield, Butson, Aldred
36. English Reformation and Protestant Scratch Dials of the 16th & 17th Centuries - Chris H.K. Williams
38. Midnight Nodus - Tony Moss
39. Dial Dealings 2011 - Mike Cowham
42. Readers' Letters - Drinkwater, Wood, Moir
43. The Scaphe Sundial at Hever Castle, Kent - David Brown (PDF 455 KB)

80. Volume 23(iv) December 2011

2. The Canterbury Pendant. Part 1: A new insight from an ancient rule for making portable altitude dials - Mario Arnaldi
8. Time For Another Beer? - Jackie Jones
10. The BSS Sundial Safari to Le Mans, France. 7-11 September 2011 - Val Cowham, David & Kate Hindle, Jane Walker, Robert Sylvester and Geoff Parsons
14. Sundial Festival at the Gatchina Palace, St Petersburg - Valery Dmitriev
16. The Sundial of the Certosa of Florence (Tuscany, Italy) Restored to Working Condition - Stefano Barbolini, Giovanni Garofalo, Guido Dresti and Rosario Mosello
22. A Stump-work Dial - John Lester
23. New Dials - Michael Harley
24. Robert Stikford's 'De Umbris Versis et Extensis' - John Davis
29. Medieval Catholic English Mass Dials of the 14th and 15th Centuries - Chris H.K. Williams
32. The Margaret Stanier Memorial Sundial: An Unequal-hours Dial for Newnham College. Part 2: Evolution of the design - Annika E. Larsson
38. The Newstead Sundials - Dennis Cowan (PDF 577 KB)
41. A Painted Polyhedral Dial - John Foad
42. Mind the Gap – Sundials and Leap Years - Frank H. King
47. Readers' Letters - Manston, Ingram, Nicholls, King, Foad, Turner.
49. The Art of Painting Sundials - JD
50. BSS Newbury Meeting – 24 September 2011 - Frank Coe

79. Volume 23(iii) September 2011

1. Editorial
2. A Medieval Gunter's Quadrant? - John Davis (PDF 688 KB)
7. Book Review - Karney
8. BSS Photographic Competition 2010–11. Pt 2: The Conference Vote - Ian R. Butson
10. The Sundial Goes To War. Part 2 - Malcolm Barnfield
15. Postcard Potpourri 20—English Harbour, Antigua - Peter Ransom
16. Ancient Egyptian Sundials - Allan Mills
20. English Mass & Scratch Dials c.1250–c.1650 Combining statistical and religious evidence - Chris H.K. Williams
22. The Coronation Dial at Painswick - Tony Wood
23. Daniel Delander Dial Recovered - John Davis
24. The Great Amwell Scottish Renaissance Obelisk Dial Boss. Part 2: The Facet record - Malcolm Bishop
27. Umbra Docet—the shadow teaches - Walter Hofmann
27. Nature Club of Pakistan - Christopher Daniel
28. BSS Annual Conference, Wyboston Lakes, 29 April–1 May 2011 - Frank Evans
34. Simple Instrument for Finding a Meridian Line - William Watson (with comment from Michael Lowne)
35. New Dials - Boldyrev
36. Another West Indies Dial? - Peter Ransom
37. Readers' Letters - Lowne, Williams, Drinkwater, Young
38. The Margaret Stanier Memorial Sundial: An Unequal-Hours Dial for Newnham College. Pt. 1. Some design considerations - Frank H. King
44. A Fathers Day Present - Peter Ransom
45. A Horizontal Quadrant of 1658 by Henry Sutton. Pt. 2 - Michael Lowne & John Davis
48. Holiday Sightings

Earlier selected articles

Bulletin 19 (iii) September 2007 page 105 Noon Cannons: A Sundial Conceit - Piers Nicholson (PDF 246 KB)
Bulletin 19 (iii) September 2007 page 125 Sundial Supporters Revisited - Roger Bowling (PDF 449 KB)
Bulletin 19 (iii) September 2007 page 137 Declination Lines Detailed - Tony Belk (PDF 310 KB)
Bulletin 19 (iv) December 2007 page 146 Daniel O'Connell: Teacher and Slate Sundial Maker - Michael Harley (PDF 800 KB)
Bulletin 19 (iv) December 2007 page 179 John Rowell: Plumber and Stained Glass Dial Maker - John Davis (PDF 1592 KB)
Bulletin 20 (ii) June 2008 page 68. Making Porcelain Sundials - Elena F Vasilevskay & Aleksandr M Boldyrev (PDF 486 KB)
Bulletin 20 (iii) September 2008 page 102. An Early Meridian Line in a Former Stately Home, Hampshire - Douglas Bateman (PDF 508 KB)
Bulletin 20 (iv) December 2008 page 154. The Universal East and West Polar Dial - Mike Cowham (PDF 312 KB)
Bulletin 21 (i) March 2009 page 2. A North-facing Polarization Sundial of Varying Hue - Allan Mills (PDF 412 KB)
Bulletin 21(ii) June 2009 page 34. A Lead Domestic Windowsill Dial - Peter Baxandall (PDF 440 KB)
Bulletin 21(iii) September 2009 page 2. A Universal Altitude Dial by John Marke - Michael Lowne & John Davis (PDF 500 KB)
Bullertin 21(iv) December 2009 page 2. The Pantheon as a Timekeeper - Robert Hannah (PDF 466 KB)
Bulletin 22(i) March 2010 page 14. The English Scratch & Mass Dial Era: Origins to c.1250 - Chris H.K. Williams (PDF 234 KB)
Bulletin 22(ii) June 2010 page 38. An Unusual Slate Sundial - Mike Cowham (PDF 308 KB)
Bulletin 22(iii) September 2010 page 40. An Unrecorded Silesian Sundial By John Rowley - Maciek Lose (PDF 551 KB)
Bulletin 23(i) March 2011 page 2. The Restoration of the Sundial at Stutton Hall, Suffolk - Harriet James (PDF 703 KB)
Bulletin 23(iI) June 2011 page 44. A Stained Glass Sundial with a Magnetic Gnomon - John Carmichael (PDF 472 KB)

Back Issues

Back numbers of the Bulletin are available for Members and Non-members. A few issues are now out of print. These out of print issues are however available on a CD-ROM, and a DVD-R is now available of the first 75 issues. See Publications for details.