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June 2020
The articles link to the specific page in a PDF optimised for speed. If you want the whole issue, you can download it here, but the files from earlier years can be quite large.
June 2020
Page 1
Page 1
This piece discusses the disruptive consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the cancellation of the BSS Conference in York and operational difficulties faced due to the closure of the University of Cambridge. It acknowledges John Davis for stepping in to handle the publication of the June Bulletin.
June 2020
Page 2
Page 2
This article researches the work of late 17th-century York artisans Thomas and Joshua Mann, who, though primarily known for architecture and engraving, were also notable sundial makers. The article details several of their horizontal, vertical, and portable dials.
Dials: Horizontal, Dials: Vertical, Dials: Portable, Historical Dials
June 2020
Page 7
Page 7
This short article presents a picture of a west-facing sundial on a church in Ragusa, Sicily. The dial is painted in normal Mediterranean style, shows Italian hours, and is notable for its gnomon which acts as a horizontal support for the nodus.
Dials: Vertical, Dials: Unusual, How Sundials Work
June 2020
Page 8
Page 8
This article describes the ancient, Jacobean sundial in Thornton, Lancashire, which is featured on the village sign and stands near the old village stocks. The dial is Grade Two Listed, but its cracked plate and heavy patina obscure the maker and date. Repairs were undertaken on the stocks, but the sundial itself remains untouched since 1891.
Dials: Horizontal, Historical Dials, Restoration projects
June 2020
Page 10
Page 10
This is the second part detailing the conservation of the 1630 Drummond Castle obelisk sundial. The work involved dismantling the structurally unsound base and shaft, using laser scanning for documentation, and replacing all the gnomons with new, accurately calculated bronze parts, restoring the dial to full working order.
Dials: Multi Faced, How Sundials Work, Restoration projects, Historical Dials
June 2020
Page 18
Page 18
This report outlines 24 sundials newly reported to the BSS Fixed Dial Register in 2019. The entries feature a variety of types, including a Pilkington and Gibbs heliochronometer, several analemmatic dials, and various vertical and horizontal dials located across the UK.
Dials: Analemmatic, Dials: Heliochronometer, Historical Dials, The BSS and Members
June 2020
Page 24
Page 24
This short piece highlights a unique modification made to a vintage Bentley: a custom-made central stay for a secondary windshield, designed to function visually like a gnomon for a horizontal dial.
Dials: Horizontal, Dials: Unusual, Sundial Design & Layout
June 2020
Page 25
Page 25
This article examines three Scottish obelisk sundials on the east coast, following the earlier historical descriptions by Thomas Ross. The dials discussed are located at Bonnington, Leven (where a conjectural restoration occurred), and a structure now at Brechin Castle, which may not have originally been an obelisk shaft.
Dials: Cube, Dials: Multi Faced, Historical Dials
June 2020
Page 30
Page 30
This segment describes a temporary-looking sundial dated 1905, painted on a wall at Butley Priory, Suffolk. The dial, which is not in the Fixed-Dial Register, has the motto 'TIME PASSETH' inscribed on the door lintel beneath it.
Dials: Vertical, Historical Dials, Mottoes
June 2020
Page 31
Page 31
The author recounts an instance at Pitmedden Castle in 2006 where, using his status as a BSS member, he quickly corrected the orientation of a horizontal sundial that was misaligned by 180 degrees.
Dials: Horizontal, How Sundials Work, The BSS and Members
June 2020
Page 31
Page 31
This piece investigates the identity of the sundial maker marked with the initials 'EC' on dials dated 1625 and 1642. It notes that the style and date pre-date the well-known London instrument maker Edmund Culpeper, suggesting an earlier, unidentified artisan.
Dials: Horizontal, Historical Dials
June 2020
Page 32
Page 32
This article documents two sophisticated double horizontal sundials constructed in the early 19th century at the Jesuit Academy in Polotsk, Belarus, following the principles of William Oughtred and Jacques Ozanam. These instruments, built for Polotsk and St Petersburg, incorporated unique features like twilight circles and local noon times for global cities, but are no longer extant.
How Sundials Work, Mathematics of Dialling, Historical Dials, Dials: Double Horizontal
June 2020
Page 43
Page 43
Reviews two books: "Time of Our Lives: Sundials of the Adler Planetarium" by Sara J. Schechner, cataloguing nearly 500 dials; and "Mathematical Instruments in the Collections of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France" by Anthony Turner et al., featuring 138 instruments including five sundials and nocturnals.
Dials: Portable, Book Reviews, Dials: Nocturnals
June 2020
Page 44
Page 44
Reports on the March 2020 excavation of a marble "hemicyclium" sundial in the ancient city of Laodikeia, Turkey. The dial features Greek inscriptions for the winter solstice, equinox, and summer solstice, though its exact dating (Hellenistic vs. Roman era) is still debated.
Dials: Hemispherical, How Sundials Work, Historical Dials, Dials: Scaphe