Page 153

Editorial

The editorial introduces the issue's new, more colourful appearance due to printing technology advancements, aiming for higher quality at low cost. It also mentions a pocket-sized card with the Equation of Time included and welcomes contributions for the photographic competition.
The BSS and Members

Page 154

The Universal East and West Polar Dial

This article describes a portable universal East and West polar dial that is self-aligning and does not require a compass. It details its design, operation, and identifies limitations such as a two-hour gap around noon. It also explores improvements through hinged flaps and cylindrical designs, and relates it to other dial types like the double crescent dial.
Dials: Polar, Dials: Portable, How Sundials Work, Sundial Design & Layout

Mike Cowham

Page 157

BSS Newbury Meeting—27 September 2008

A report on the BSS Newbury meeting on 27 September 2008, detailing talks on stainless steel sundials, polar dials, dynamic sundial design using calculators, and 3-D modelling for overshadowing. It also covers a survey of early horizontal dials in Flintshire, exhibits, and presentations on paper sundials and dials in Mexico and the southern hemisphere.
Dials: Horizontal, Dials: Polar, Sundial Design & Layout, The BSS and Members

John Davis

Page 159

New Dial

This piece describes a new multiple dial created by Alex Boldyrev for Shevelkovo Village. Carved from Crimean limestone, it features an equatorial dial's upper half and a south-facing scaphe dial in Greek style. It incorporates owls symbolizing Athena and a reconstructed historical mistake in its design, with gnomons made from cold-hammered copper rods.
Dials: Multi Faced, Dials: Equatorial, Sundial Design & Layout, Dials: Scaphe

Page 160

Analemmatic Dials—Design Data

This article provides a summary of data and equations needed to delineate and set out analemmatic sundials. It discusses the projection of an equatorial dial onto a horizontal surface, using a vertical gnomon whose position varies with the sun's declination, and the calculation of sunrise and sunset markers using Lambert circles and Bailey Points.
Dials: Analemmatic, How Sundials Work, Mathematics of Dialling, Sundial Design & Layout

Ken Head

Page 162

Postcard Potpourri 10: Wimborne Minster, Dorset

This note discusses the sundial at Wimborne Minster, Dorset, based on a 1908 postcard, a 1928 cigarette card, and an 1830 print. It observes the dial's historical repositioning from a gable to ground level between 1830 and 1908, clarifies Mrs. Gatty's potentially inaccurate references to its date and location, and encourages a visit to the Minster.
Dials: Multi Faced, Historical Dials

Peter Ransom

Page 163

The Malvern Pillar Dial

This article reports on the Malvern pillar dial, noting its removal from an old cross shaft and replacement with a gabled cross. The original cube dial has been refurbished or replaced, and is now mounted on a short column in the churchyard. It also mentions a modern cube dial by Liz Leighford based on a similar design.
Dials: Cube, Historical Dials, Restoration projects

Tony Wood

Page 164

The Life Cycle of English Mass (Scratch) Dials

This article explores the evolution and loss of English mass (scratch) dials, viewing it as a continuous dynamic process. It highlights the destructive forces of weathering and church rebuilding and suggests that there was universal adoption of these simple devices in medieval churches before their displacement by scientific dials and mechanical clocks, mostly in the 17th century.
Historical Dials, Dials: Mass Dials

Chris H. K. Williams

Page 166

Timbouctou Sine Quadrant

This article details the reproduction of a sine quadrant from a preserved Timbouctou manuscript for a documentary film. It describes the instrument's function in solving trigonometric problems without manual calculation, like determining unequal hours, and its historical context as a teaching tool in Islamic astronomy. The author discusses the challenges of interpretation and the modern construction using laser-cut perspex.
Construction Projects, Dialling Tools, Historical Dials, Mathematics of Dialling

Malcolm Barnfield

Page 168

Book Reviews

Reviews two books: Les Méridiennes du Monde et Leur Histoire by Andrée Gotteland (2 volumes, 850 meridians in 24 countries, including midday canons and industrial meridians) and Mass Dials On Yorkshire Churches by Alan Cook (monograph on 83 churches with mass dials, discussing variations and survival rates, well-illustrated).
Book Reviews

Jane Walker
Irene Brightmer

Page 169

Diallist’s Alphabet

A light-hearted alphabetical list of terms and concepts related to sundials and dialling. It covers various aspects from Apparent time to Zodiac, including types of dials, mathematical concepts, and references to the British Sundial Society and its members.
How Sundials Work, The BSS and Members

Tony Belk

Page 170

Polar Dials at any Declination

This article presents a method for designing polar sundials for any latitude and declination using four simple formulae. It explains that polar dials have a style parallel with the dial plane and parallel hour lines, and describes how to determine the angle of the equinox line and the sub-style hour angle.
Dials: Polar, How Sundials Work, Mathematics of Dialling, Sundial Design & Layout

Tony Belk

Page 172

A Sundial at the Bodleian Library in Oxford

This article investigates the historical existence of a sundial on the south wall of the Bodleian Library, depicted in Loggan's 1675 drawing and a later 1818 engraving. It provides evidence for its reality, discusses its disappearance by 1814-1880 due to redundancy and weathering, identifies Richard Hawkins as its painter in 1641, and suggests its original positioning.
Dials: Vertical, Historical Dials

Anthony Capon

Page 176

Liverpool Road Station Sundial, Manchester—a second view

This article complements a previous one on the Liverpool Road Station sundial, Manchester. It discusses the dial's positioning at first-floor level, its installation in 1833, and its crucial role in regulating train timings by local apparent time before the introduction of uniform Railway Time in the 1840s, highlighting the sundial's importance in early railway operations.
Dials: Horizontal, Historical Dials

John Wall

Page 178

“Meet me in St Louis” at the 14th NASS Conference, 7-10 August 2008—a UK visitor’s impressions

A UK visitor's account of the 14th NASS Conference in St Louis, covering the coach tour to various sundial sites like the Jefferson Barracks and Missouri Botanical Gardens, presentations on topics such as digital wall dials and the equation of time, and the distribution of dialling software. It notes the smaller attendance compared to BSS meetings but high standard of events.
Historical Dials, Sundial Design & Layout, The BSS and Members

Mike Isaacs

Page 184

The Logarithmic Spiral as the Basis of a Polar South Sundial

This article proposes the logarithmic spiral as the sole mathematical function needed for designing a polar south sundial, where one spiral segment forms the gnomon profile and another acts as the dial face. It details the spiral's characteristics, equations for tangents and arc lengths, and presents a calculation example for a model, illustrating its construction and operation.
Construction Projects, Dials: Polar, Mathematics of Dialling, Sundial Design & Layout

Ortwin Feustel

Page 188

John Blagrave

This short note features an illustration from John Blagrave's "The Mathematical Jewel" showing a diallist determining wall declination. It briefly mentions Blagrave's life in Reading and the various tools depicted in the drawing, such as a square, plumb-bob, and simple theodolites.
Dialling Tools

John Davis

Page 189

Joanna Migdal: Professional Artist, Professional Sundial Maker - a visit report by Douglas Bateman

A report on Joanna Migdal, a prominent sundial maker. It covers her artistic training, apprenticeship with Edwin Russell, and her unique methods for creating bronze sundials, including water jet cutting, hand-finishing, engraving with burrs, and chemical patination. The article highlights her award-winning work, design process, and other artistic commissions, and notes her links with the British Sundial Society.

Doug Bateman

Page 193

BSS Sundial Safari to the Alsace, 6-10 September 2008

A report on the BSS Sundial Safari to the Alsace region of France, detailing visits to various towns and villages. It describes numerous sundials encountered, including those at Strasbourg Cathedral, Soultz, Guebwiller, St-Marc convent, Colmar, Eguisheim, Riquewihr, Bergheim, Mont Ste-Odile (featuring a polyhedral dial), and Freiburg (Germany), as well as the Kirschgarten Museum in Basel.
Dials: Vertical, Dials: Multi Faced, Historical Dials, The BSS and Members

Val Cowham
Janet Jenkins
Graham Aldred
Doug Bateman
Fred Sawyer
Don Petrie
Gillian Nicholson

Page 197

Henry Gyles

This note presents a drawing of Henry Gyles, a celebrated glass-painter from York and prolific stained glass dialmaker, from the British Museum collection. It compares this effigy with a self-portrait Gyles used as his tradecard, highlighting the rarity of having multiple portraits of early dialmakers.
Historical Dials

John Davis

Page 198

An Early Meridian Line in a Former Stately Home, Hampshire—Additional Information

This article provides additional information about a meridian line at Bramshill House, Hampshire. It details a 1770 manuscript by S. Dunn containing notes on spherical trigonometry and meridian line calculations. It confirms the line's date before 1770 and discusses the context of 18th-century mathematical sophistication and notes from Mrs. Gatty that imply the existence of other dials at the location.
Dials: Noon Lines, Historical Dials, Mathematics of Dialling

Doug Bateman

Page 203

A Puzzle at Ravello, Italy

This article investigates a puzzling sundial in the Rose Garden of Villa Cimbrone at Ravello, Italy. Despite its fine design and the builder's knowledge of clocks, the dial's inclination and gnomon angle are incorrect for its latitude, suggesting it was originally a horizontal dial for England or is a non-dial. It also mentions another horizontal dial at the villa.
Dials: Unusual, Historical Dials

Nicola Severino
John Davis