October 1999
The articles link to the specific page in a PDF optimised for speed. If you want a better (but much bigger) verison of the whole issue, you can
download it here.
Page 106
This editorial introduces the final BSS Bulletin issue of the current millennium, thanking contributors for articles, photographs, designs, and comments. It highlights discussions on the millennium's start and eclipse-viewing members, encouraging new contributions and referring to 'Guidelines for Contributors'.
Page 107
This article discusses the sundial at St Mary's Church, Stoke D'Abernon, a 7th-century Saxon church. It details the 1933 remaking of the dial after a fall, based on pre-Conquest prototypes shown in 19th-century sketches. The current replica is believed to be unique as the only known Saxon dial replica on a church wall in the UK, with markings consistent with an octaval system.
Dials: Mass Dials,
Historical Dials,
Restoration projects
Page 108
This article describes two sundials in Andover, Hampshire, both linked to William Hawkins Heath (1787-1861), a brewer and banker. One, dated 1846, is on London Street with the motto 'Respice Finem' and an equation of time table bears just the initials W.H.H. The second, dated 1833, is in poor condition on the Savoy Cinema (formerly Heath House) and bears his full name, solving the initials riddle. The article details Heath's family business and civic roles.
Dials: Vertical,
Equation of Time,
Historical Dials,
Mottoes
Page 111
Reviews recent sundial sales at Christie's, highlighting several notable items. Sales included a rare Dutch compass/sundial, a Pilkington & Gibbs heliochronometer, and various garden sundials. A highlight was a large horizontal stone dial showing declination lines and times for different cities. The Rothschild collection sale featured high-value scientific instruments, including a minute dial, an astronomical compendium, a pair of dividers with altitude dials, ivory diptychs, and an astrolabe. The author also found an engraved copper printing plate of Rev. William Oughtred, inventor of the Ring Dial and slide rule.
Page 115
This article presents a design for a horizontal sundial adjustable for the Equation of Time and longitude by rotation around an axis parallel to the gnomon's style-edge. The design features a dial-face and gnomon-spine on a head, connected to a base with scales for longitude and a twelve-month Equation of Time adjustment. The offset bearing configuration and a Vernier-like scale simplify operations, allowing users to set the dial for different longitudes and regular Equation of Time corrections.
Dials: Horizontal,
Equation of Time,
Mathematics of Dialling,
Sundial Design & Layout
Page 118
This article explores the 'Sunrise Line', defined as the boundary between day and night (the Terminator). The author dislikes the term 'Terminator' and proposes 'soloriensorbis' (sunrise semi-circle). It discusses how the line moves due to Earth's rotation and its appearance on a 2D map as a shallow 'S' shape. The article also touches on determining the first territory to greet the new millennium based on sunrise time, and queries how sundials perform at sunrise on mountaintops.
How Sundials Work
Page 120
This review critiques 'The Inequalities of Sundial Time' by Dr. Eilon Saroka, describing it as peculiar and unique. It covers the book's extensive detail on astronomical deviations from perfect constancy, but notes that all the factors examined are irrelevant for sundial accuracy, except for atmospheric refraction. The reviewer criticizes the lack of index and modern references, suggesting the work be split into two monographs on Earth's motion inequalities and the Equation of Time/analemma.
Book Reviews,
Equation of Time,
Mathematics of Dialling
Page 121
This review covers two issues of NASS's *Compendium* (Vol.6 No.1 and No.2). It highlights articles on a stone cube dial from Ross-on-Wye, the Capuchin and Apian dials, and a monolith memorial sundial in Charleston, S.C. The second issue features horizontal garden dials and an ingenious 'sundot polar dial' design for a hollow cylinder. It also notes reader queries on wood types for sundials and finding wall declination.
Book Reviews
Page 122
This article examines Anglo-Saxon sundials from England's middle period (10th century revival), focusing on Darlington and Pittington. It traces their derivation from the Graeco-Roman hemicycle, adapted for early Christian communities, incorporating four-part day divisions. The Darlington dial, carved on both sides, shows evolution in design and symbolic meanings. The Pittington dial is noted as England's earliest six-division example, influenced by Italian and Byzantine styles, potentially reflecting a rearrangement of canonical hours.
Sundial Design & Layout,
Historical Dials,
Dials: Mass Dials
Page 128
Features several reader contributions. A.F. Baigent suggests creating a 'Diallers' Dictionary' for standardising gnomonic terms. John Singleton proposes a shortcut method for determining equinox and solstice tracks for reclining/declining dials. Maurice Cohen discusses misplaced sundials at National Trust properties like Anglesey Abbey, highlighting variations in local management's care. Gordon E Taylor comments on symbol standardisation in gnomonics, advocating for an international committee to address confusion in terms like 'declination' and 'azimuth'.
The BSS and Members
Page 131
This section announces changes in handling BSS material sales and provides contact information for ordering back issues, ties, and lapel badges. It also invites members to report new, old, or updated fixed and mass dials to the registrars to help chronicle their condition. Additionally, it announces a GCSE Astronomy Course at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, offering students practical experience with telescopes and preparation for the examination.
The BSS and Members
Page 132
This article briefly summarises the Andrew Somerville Memorial Lecture, delivered by Professor David Waters. which explored maritime history and time measurement at sea. Professor Waters discussed the link between city-port growth and Mediterranean trade, enabled by the magnetic compass. He suggested early Nordic explorations possibly used sundials, while sand-glasses were 'horologia del mare'. The development of accurate timekeepers and ship's logs facilitated navigation, leading to precise maps and the rise of a wealthy merchant class, plausibly contributing to the Renaissance.
Page 133
This report details the Newbury Meeting, featuring talks on French dials with carved figures, gnomonic markings on church walls, and an experiment recreating Eratosthenes' Earth diameter measurement. Michael Maltin demonstrated Earth's orbital eccentricity and movement. Peter Meecham described his 'Tempus Fugit' balloon. Exhibitions included a drinks sundial, NASS double horizontal dial, crested china sundials, and Andrew James' Pringles cylinder shepherd's dial. The meeting also involved laying out a meridian line and a birthday cake celebration for the BSS.
The BSS and Members
Page 135
This article discusses millennium projects, highlighting two commissions. One is a 10ft tall horizontal dial sculpture for the Harborough canal basin, costing £15,000 with Lottery Funds. The other is a memorial in Rimpton Parish, Dorset, consisting of two 8ft high standing slabs with a 50mm slot aligned to sunrise on 1st January 2000. Despite likely cloudy weather, the intention is to attend annually for a champagne ritual, establishing a new English tradition.
Construction Projects,
Dials: Horizontal,
Dials: Unusual
Page 136
This entry briefly describes a 7-inch diameter cast brass dial, with an elegant 51° gnomon, obtained by a Leicester primary school in 1969 from educational suppliers. The author notes that it is a 'nondial' due to its inaccurate hour-line calibration, implying it fails in its instructional purpose.
Sundial Design & Layout
Page 137
This report details the BSS's successful Tenth Anniversary Conference at Dunchurch Lodge. Lectures covered calendar history, a remote reading sundial invention, and the discovery of a lost stained glass sundial. Allan Mills surveyed Greek and Roman scaphe dials. Doug Bateman guided a tour of Nottingham Subscription Library's Noon Line. Group meetings addressed portable dials, mass dials, and wall declination. The conference concluded with an auction, a satellite dish sundial demonstration, an eclipse lecture, and the election of new officials.
The BSS and Members
Page 139
This article surveys 214 fixed sundials in the former SFR Yugoslavia, now divided into multiple new states. It highlights a Roman spherical dial from Sremska Mitrovica, the oldest Serbian sundial at Studenica Monastery (12th century), and the horizontal dial at Belgrade Observatory. It notes the scarcity of sundials in Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina due to Turkish reign, and discusses Italian-influenced medieval stone dials on the Croatian Adriatic coast, including one in Dubrovnik with both contemporary and old Italian hour scales.
Dials: Horizontal,
Dials: Portable,
Dials: Scaphe,
Dials: Vertical,
Historical Dials
Page 142
This report details a BSS Northumbrian Sundial Meeting, highlighting visits to Anglo-Saxon dials at Escomb, Dalton-le-Dale, and Pittington, noting the latter's poor condition. The group also saw dials by William Emmerson and C. Hunter, a modern 20-foot sundial by Tony Moss in Silverlink Parks, and the Stephenson Dial at Killingworth. The meeting concluded with a visit to the Keelman's Hospital and a restored shipyard sundial at the Trinity Maritime Centre, along with scratch dials at Bothal, which are rapidly deteriorating.
The BSS and Members
Page 144
This article describes the design and construction of a lightweight laser trigon for accurately laying out sundial lines. Inspired by difficulties with traditional string methods, the author developed a compact perspex instrument that uses a laser pointer to project declination and hour lines onto any dial surface. The design addresses issues of gnomon flexing and portability, and uniquely proposes linking the trigon's axes to trace analemmas mechanically, offering a universal tool for precise dial delineation.
DIY Sundial Projects,
Dialling Tools
Page 146
This article describes a technique for rapidly producing vertical skeleton sundials from stainless steel using a 3.5-kilowatt laser cutter. Designs are created on a computer with specific location, wall orientation, and date lines. The method allows for intricate details, including owner's names and quotations. The technique can also create silhouette window sundials with sandblasted glass, and accurate analemma plates in stainless steel and brass, suitable for human-involvement analemmatic dials.
Construction Projects,
DIY Sundial Projects,
Dials: Vertical,
Sundial Design & Layout
Page 148
This article describes a millennium project involving the construction of a tower, 'La Meridiana', near Rome, to house a series of internal sundials. The author designed 10 dials for the walls and ceiling, read by sunlight projected through openings or reflected by a mirror. An experimental dial at his family house achieved accuracy within 10 seconds. The project aims to demonstrate precise time and date measurement, zodiac, altitude, and azimuth, using novel methods for declination, horizon, and meridian establishment.
Construction Projects,
Dials: Reflected,
Dials: Unusual,
Sundial Design & Layout
Page 154
This report summarises the 9th National Sundials Meeting of the Amateur Astronomical Union of Italy, held in San Felice del Benaco from March 26-28, 1999. One hundred and six members attended, and 30 authors presented 48 papers on various gnomonic topics, including trigons, solar clocks, wall declination, projection methods, analemmatic dials, and astrolabes. A full 400-page report of the papers was published and distributed to attendees.