June 2012 page 2
Allan A. Mills

Gaocheng Calendrical Observatory, China

This article details the historical Gaocheng Calendrical Observatory in China, focusing on its construction in 1276 AD by Guo Shoujing, its role in calendrical observations for the Yuan Dynasty, and its design principles for measuring solstices and equinoxes using a monumental gnomon. It also describes the 'shadow-definer' device used for accuracy and the methods for orientation and timekeeping.
Dials: Noon Lines, Historical Dials, How Sundials Work, Mathematics of Dialling

September 2012 page 7
Doug Bateman

Check-in at Noon—A noon dial with analemma at an airport check-in desk

This article describes a unique noon dial with an analemma at Rovaniemi Airport, Finland, designed by Professor Emeritus Lauri Anttila in 2000. An angled mirror in the roof casts sunlight onto the floor to indicate months, with the design assuming passengers are aware of time zone differences.
Construction Projects, Dials: Analemmatic, Dials: Noon Lines, Sundial Design & Layout

December 2012 page 16
Tony Wood

Summertime Noon Dial

This article describes a fused glass noon dial by Adele Christensen for a Gloucestershire client, indicating 12:00 BST on Midsummer's Day via a narrow slit of sunlight. The author also notes a similar Millennium design, the Lockinge Ring by David Harber in Oxfordshire, which uses a mirror for true noon.
Construction Projects, Dials: Noon Lines, Dials: Reflected, Sundial Design & Layout

December 2012 page 34
Malcolm Barnfield

The Restoration Of A 19th Century Noon Cannon Sundial

This article describes the restoration of a 19th-century Negretti & Zambra noon cannon sundial. The author recreated missing brass parts, noting design anomalies like incorrect latitude calibration and an inappropriate date scale. The true maker and date remain uncertain, highlighting the common practice of firms selling goods made by others.
Dials: Noon Lines, Historical Dials, Restoration projects, Sundial Design & Layout

December 2012 page 47
Christopher Daniel

The Meridies Media Greenwich Noon Dial

This article details the 2012 reconstruction of the Meridies Media noon mark mean time sundial at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. Originally designed by Dr Tadeusz Przypkowski in 1967 with a design error, the new Kirkstone slate dial, carved by Ben Jones, was meticulously crafted and unveiled on 10 October 2012.
Restoration projects, The BSS and Members, Dials: Noon Lines

December 2011 page 16
Stefano Barbolini
Giovanni Garofalo
Guido Dresti
Rosario Mosello

The Sundial of the Certosa of Florence (Tuscany, Italy) Restored to Working Condition

This article details the restoration of a pinhole sundial at the Certosa of Florence. The meridian line served as a calendar and true local noon marker. Investigations revealed inconsistencies, leading to the conclusion that the dial correctly determined the spring equinox, vital for calculating Easter, reflecting its religious institution setting. Historical interventions, possibly by astronomer G.B. Donati, are also discussed.
Dials: Noon Lines, Equation of Time, Historical Dials, Restoration projects

March 2010 page 20
David Payne

Holiday Sightings (1)

A brief travel report on two noon-mark sundials found in Spoleto, Umbria, Italy. One is located in the park of the Villa Pianciani Delizia and another, similar one at the Villa Redenta. Both are described as being in need of restoration.
Dials: Noon Lines, Historical Dials

March 2010 page 23
Eddie French

Holiday Sightings (2)

Features a vertical declining dial combined with a noon mark analemma on a church tower in Winterthur, Switzerland. The vertical dial is corrected for longitude, and the analemma is colour-coded for the two halves of the year.
Dials: Noon Lines, Dials: Vertical, Equation of Time

March 2010 page 38
Malcolm Barnfield

The Voortrekker Monument, Pretoria, South Africa

Describes how the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria functions as a timekeeper. An aperture in the dome allows a ray of sunlight to illuminate a cenotaph at Local Solar Noon on 16th December each year, commemorating the 1838 Battle of Blood River.
Dials: Unusual, Sundial Design & Layout, Historical Dials, Dials: Noon Lines

December 2010 page 26
Christopher Daniel

Meridies Media—An Historical Essay. The direct vertical noon mark mean time sundial at Greenwich

This historical essay details the Meridies Media sundial designed by Dr Tadeusz Przypkowski for the Old Royal Observatory at Greenwich in 1967. It describes the dial's function using an analemma to indicate standard mean time, true noon, and date. The article recounts the author's involvement in its installation, the initial design error, and the eventual reconstruction of the wooden dial in 1969, which remained until 1991.
Dials: Noon Lines, Equation of Time, Historical Dials, Restoration projects

September 2009 page 8
Mike Isaacs

Visit to Bramshill house, 6th June 2009

A report on a British Sundial Society visit to Bramshill House, a Jacobean mansion in Hampshire. The article describes the tour of the house, which was the former National Police Staff College, and the various timepieces examined, including a noon mark, a horizontal dial, a stone polyhedron, and a vertical dial.
Dials: Horizontal, Dials: Noon Lines, Dials: Vertical, The BSS and Members

March 2008 page 3
Stefano Barbolini
Guido Dresti
Giovanni Garofalo
Rosario Mosello

The Sundial at the Pitti Palace in Florence

This article details the restoration and description of a 1696 pinhole sundial in Florence's Pitti Palace, designed by Vincenzo Viviani. It served for astronomical observations and calendar functions, notably for determining Easter. The piece also explores its historical context within the Medici court and its allegorical frescoes.
Restoration projects, Historical Dials, Dials: Noon Lines

September 2008 page 102
Doug Bateman

An Early Meridian Line in a Former Stately Home, Hampshire

This article describes a meridian line at Bramshill House, Hampshire, believed to be the earliest in the British Isles, dating to around 1720. It also describes a west declining dial and a now-missing horizontal dial.
Dials: Horizontal, Dials: Vertical, Historical Dials, Dials: Noon Lines

September 2008 page 118
Irene Brightmer

Readers’ Letters

Irene Brightmer shares details of a vertical surrealist sundial by Salvador Dalí in Paris, featuring a blue-eyed female face. She also describes two historic meridians nearby: one in the Church of Saint-Sulpice, commissioned from Henry Sully, and the official Paris meridian marked by over a hundred Arago medallions.
Dials: Noon Lines, Dials: Unusual, Dials: Vertical, Historical Dials

September 2008 page 152
Jack Bromily
Jim Marginson

A Visit to Belgium by Two Innocents Abroad

Jack Bromily and Jim Marginson recount their trip to Belgium to visit the Sundial Park in Genk. Guided by a Dutch Sundial Society member, they explored the park's tastefully located dials and visited the Astronomical Museum. They also visited La Musée de la Vie Wallone in Liège, which houses over 150 portable dials.
Dials: Portable, Historical Dials, Dials: Noon Lines

December 2008 page 198
Doug Bateman

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

March 2007 page 33
Stefano Barbolini
Guido Dresti
Frank King
Rosario Mosello

The sundial in La Specola Museum, Florence

This paper describes the pinhole sundial in the Grand-Ducal Astronomical Observatory (La Specola) in Florence. It covers the observatory's history, the sundial's design as a string-gnomon meridian line, its restoration in 2005, and a comparison of measured zodiac point positions with calculated values. It highlights the instrument's historical importance for astronomical studies and calendar reform.
Dials: Noon Lines, Historical Dials, How Sundials Work, Restoration projects

September 2007 page 105
Piers Nicholson

Noon Cannons: A Sundial Conceit

This article discusses noon cannons, devices that fire at solar noon using a magnifying glass to ignite powder. It describes preparing and firing a cannon, noting it's more for fun than accuracy. It also mentions historical examples from the mid-17th and 18th centuries, modern versions, and current licensing restrictions in England. A specific F. Barker and Son cannon is detailed.
Dials: Noon Lines, Dials: Unusual, Historical Dials

December 2006 page 162
K. Anderson

Something Unsuspected, But Not New, in Darkest Scotland

K. Anderson describes unexpected meridian light spots observed at Arbroath Abbey, Scotland, in December 2005. Sunlight streaks through narrow lancet windows create precise light pointers at astronomical noon in the applied arcade and sacristy, confirming early meridional arrangements within the Abbey buildings, dating back to the late 1100s, highlighting ancient astronomical awareness.
Historical Dials, Dials: Noon Lines

March 2005 page 35
Mike Cowham

Pillar Dial with Meridian Line Calibrated in Italian Hours

Analyses a rare Italian pillar dial in Ravenna with a horizontal gnomon, calibrated for reading the time in the Italian hours system at solar noon. Discusses calculating local noon offsets, latitude influences, and historical context of Venetian installation. Examines missing gnomon, hurricane damage and the cultural practice of hour counting from event-based day start.
Historical Dials, Dials: Noon Lines

December 2005 page 175
Allan A. Mills

Sundials at the University of Leicester

This piece highlights four unusual sundials at the University of Leicester campus. It features a two-meter-high "Eye of Time" noon mark, a modern sculptural piece indicating both time of year and day via an analemma. Also mentioned are John Davis's "Newton" dial and two matching vertical declining dials in Westmoreland slate, one showing equal hours and the other seasonal hours.
Dials: Noon Lines, Dials: Unusual, Dials: Vertical

March 2004 page 4
Mike Cowham

Do We Need Shadow Sharpeners?

Explores methods to improve the precision of reading sundials, addressing the problem of the penumbra (fuzzy shadow) caused by the sun's finite disc. It discusses various gnomon designs, such as annular gnomons for noon marks, thin rod gnomons, and pinhole or taut wire gnomons, which create sharper shadows for more accurate time-telling.
Dials: Noon Lines, Dials: Portable, How Sundials Work, Sundial Design & Layout

March 2004 page 33
Tony Wood

From the Mental Home and Workhouse

This article explores two historically significant sundial-related discoveries: a door from a demolished Mental Home in Wiltshire covered with calculations for a meridian line, and a scratch dial on the wall of a Nottinghamshire workhouse. It delves into the stories of the 'inmates' who created these and speculates on their accuracy and purpose.
DIY Sundial Projects, Dials: Noon Lines, Historical Dials

March 2002 page 44

Wheel of Time

Describes a noon mark dial with a lens at the aperture, projecting a bright spot on an analemma inscribed on a semicircular scale.
Sundial Design & Layout, Construction Projects, Equation of Time, Dials: Noon Lines

September 2001 page 113
Allan A. Mills

The Eye of Time

Describes a modern, three-dimensional noon mark sculpture in Portland stone, with analemma. It indicates both the instant of mean-time noon and the time of year by projecting a spot of sunlight onto an incised analemma. This design is believed to be the first of its kind that is 3-dimensional.
Dials: Noon Lines, Dials: Unusual, Equation of Time

February 2000 page 42
John Ingram

A Visit to Farnborough Noon Sundial

Describes a group visit to the noon-mark sundial at Farnborough. Designed by Douglas Bateman, the dial is set out on a central glass window in the entrance hall of the Cody Building and shows local apparent noon, mean time noon, and the date.
The BSS and Members, Dials: Noon Lines

June 1999 page 55
Doug Bateman

A Meridian Dial in a Subscription Library, Nottingham

This article describes a rare 1834 meridian dial in Nottingham's Bromley House Subscription Library. It features a brass strip on the first floor, which was covered for 150 years. The dial was used to ascertain Local Apparent Noon and is complemented by two longcase clocks with inscribed time differences. Efforts are underway for its partial restoration, noting its excellent condition in fine surroundings.
Dials: Noon Lines, Historical Dials, Restoration projects

June 1999 page 62
Allan A. Mills

Noon Marks and the Projection of the Analemma, with some New Versions of these Old Instruments

This article explores noon marks and the analemma, detailing how the sun's daily and annual motion is used to determine local noon and time of year. It discusses simple horizontal and vertical noon marks, the use of aperture gnomons, and the historical and modern application of the analemma for time correction. New designs for polar and vertical analemmatic noon marks, including sculptural forms, are also presented.
Dialling Tools, Dials: Noon Lines, Equation of Time, Sundial Design & Layout

February 1998 page 36
Nicoletta Lanciano

Four Meridian Lines in Rome

Account of four meridian lines in Rome: noon-mark function, layout and observational practice, with notes on accuracy and historical purpose.
Dials: Noon Lines, Historical Dials

July 1997 page 24
Charles K. Aked

Meridian Lines, The Andrew Somerville Memorial Lecture

Lecture on meridian lines in Europe, their scientific and historical significance, and notable examples.
Dials: Noon Lines

June 1996 page 26
M. R. Norris

Meridian Line at Ramsgate

A description of a meridian line installed in Ramsgate, covering its construction, timekeeping function, and local educational significance.
Dials: Noon Lines, Sundial Design & Layout

June 1994 page 32
Giovanni Paltrinieri

The Meridian of the Basilica of San Petronio in Bologna - Part 1

Part one of a detailed study of the meridian line in San Petronio, a 17th-century astronomical installation in Bologna. The article outlines its construction, alignment, and function in tracking solar time and determining dates such as solstices, serving both scientific and liturgical purposes.
Dials: Noon Lines, Equation of Time, Historical Dials

October 1994 page 22
Giovanni Paltrinieri

The Meridian of the Basilica of San Petronio in Bologna (Part II)

This article, the second part of a series, details the reconstruction and ongoing maintenance of the meridian line in the Basilica of San Petronio, Bologna. It describes Eustachio Zanotti's 1776 restoration, which aimed to retain Cassini's original dimensions while improving stability with new materials. The article highlights the meridian's function in accurately determining the vernal equinox and its use for astronomical observations and calendar correction. It also covers Federigo Guarducci's 1904 inspection confirming the instrument's excellent preservation and stability, and discusses an adjacent 1758 mechanical "equation clock" used to reconcile true solar time with mean time.
Dials: Noon Lines, Historical Dials

February 1993 page 18
G. Camus
P. de Divonne
A. Gotteland
B. Taillez

The Meridians of St Sulpice Church, Paris, (Part 1)

This article describes two meridians in St Sulpice Church, Paris, by Henry Sully (1727) and Charles Le Monnier (1743). It discusses their purpose for time measurement and astronomical observations, detailing the historical context of time standardization and their architectural integration within the church.
Dials: Noon Lines, Equation of Time, Historical Dials, Sundial Design & Layout

June 1993 page 2
Giovanni Paltrinieri

Il Quarantale, An Unknown Instrument by Geminiano Montanari

This article details the discovery and analysis of the 'Quarantale', a lost gnomonic instrument invented by Geminiano Montanari, found through manuscript inscriptions related to a meridian line in Bologna. It explains how the instrument was designed for stellar observations, covering a 140° meridian arc to cover two apertures, by using a unique optical sight and mathematical calculations based on similar triangles, restoring its historical context.
Dials: Noon Lines, Dials: Unusual, Historical Dials, Dials: Nocturnals

June 1993 page 11
G. Camus
P. de Divonne
A. Gotteland
B. Taillez

The Meridians of St Sulpice Church, Paris, (Part 2)

This is the second part of an article describing two meridians in St Sulpice Church, Paris, by Henry Sully and Charles Le Monnier. It details their purpose for time measurement and astronomical observations, discussing restoration efforts, challenges in conservation, and the historical context of time standardization. It also covers Le Monnier's observations and the meridian's condition through the French Revolution and later centuries.
Dials: Noon Lines, Equation of Time, Historical Dials

October 1991 page 22
Frank Stevens

Telling the Time by the Spire

This article describes the Salisbury Cathedral spire as a unique sundial, where its midday shadow crosses an engraved line marked "Meridies" on a low north wall. It notes the popularity of elaborate Scottish multangular dials in the 17th century and details a rare Ivychurch dial in the Salisbury Museum, a local stone multi-faced piece that indicates both time and seasons.
Dials: Multi Faced, Dials: Noon Lines, Historical Dials