September 2022
Page 1

Editorial

Discusses the deaths of Chris Daniel and Tony Wood, noted BSS members. Provides updates on Society changes, including Fred Sawyer becoming a second Patron and Ben Jones taking on the role of Nominated Trustee. Also notes the final instalment of Dennis Cowan's series on Thomas Ross.
The BSS and Members

Frank King

September 2022
Page 2

Thomas Wright’s Horizontal Dials: An Update

Updates the known catalogue of 18th-century mathematical instrument maker Thomas Wright’s horizontal dials, increasing the count to 27. Provides details, metallurgy, and provenance for recently examined examples, including the Old Warden dial, the Wrexham dial, and the Lisbon College dial (now at Ushaw College).
Dials: Horizontal, Equation of Time, Historical Dials, Restoration projects

John Davis
Darius Panahy

September 2022
Page 11

Obituary – Christopher St John Hume Daniel MBE, 13 November 1933 – 17 May 2022

A tribute to Chris Daniel, a founder member, long-term BSS Chairman, and noted diallist. Covers his careers as a Master Mariner and at the National Maritime Museum, where he focused on sundials. Notes his contributions as a designer, author (e.g., Shire album Sundials), and his MBE award.
Sundial Design & Layout, The BSS and Members

John Davis

September 2022
Page 13

Summer Solstice in Fleet Street

Presents a colourful photograph of the Fleet Street sundial, captured by Piers Nicholson, showing the dial in full sun on the day of the summer solstice in 2022.
Dials: Vertical

Piers Nicholson

September 2022
Page 14

Obituary – Anthony Oldfield Wood, November 1935 – April 2022

A tribute to Tony Wood, an early member remembered for reviving the Mass Dial Group. Highlights his dedication to recording dials, submitting 1,609 reports, and arranging for mass dial records to be stored at the York Centre for Medieval Studies archive.
Dials: Mass Dials, The BSS and Members

John Davis

September 2022
Page 15

Postcard Potpourri 60: St Helier

Examines a postcard featuring the dial on The Picket House in Royal Square, St Helier, Jersey (SRN 4509). The dial was made by local mapmaker Elias Le Gros, declines to the west and features both Arabic and Roman numerals.
Dials: Vertical, Historical Dials

Peter Ransom

September 2022
Page 16

In the Footsteps of Thomas Ross. Part 40: The End of the Journey

The final instalment tracing the sundials catalogued by Scottish architect Thomas Ross (1839–1930). Recounts the author's search for a rediscovery of the sundial at Magdalen Chapel, Edinburgh, and the examination of Ross's personal annotated copy of The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland.
Dials: Multi Faced, Historical Dials

Dennis Cowan

September 2022
Page 20

Polar Dial at Bat Galim, Haifa

Describes a modern, high-quality polar sundial located beside the beach in Haifa, Israel. The dial is made of polished basalt and carries time information for various global locations, including Portsmouth and Newcastle.
Dials: Polar, Dials: Unusual

Christine Northeast

September 2022
Page 21

A Hat for the Sun: A Visual Tour of Corniced Sundials in Europe, Part 2

Continues a visual tour of European corniced sundials, detailing six more ‘hat’ types, such as the Serramazzoni dial (Italy) and the Marian Column (Germany). Also introduces dials with curved cornices, highlighted by the enormous Castillon Dam sundial (France), the largest dial in the world.
Construction Projects, Dials: Unusual, Historical Dials, Sundial Design & Layout

Manuel Pizarro

September 2022
Page 26

A Previously Unrecorded Early Christian Monastic Dial in Ireland

Documents the identification of a previously unrecorded Early Christian monastic dial at Molua graveyard, Co. Limerick. These stone dials, characteristic of 7th–10th century Ireland, were used by monks to regulate times for canonical prayers.
Dials: Mass Dials, Historical Dials

Michael J. Harley

September 2022
Page 29

A Danish Desktop Sundial

Examines a small, mass-produced equatorial desktop sundial made of brass and onyx alabaster, inscribed with a Danish motto. Concludes the dial was likely a commercial giftware product from the 1950s to 1970s, possibly manufactured in India.
Dials: Equatorial, Dials: Portable, Mottoes

Martin Jenkins

September 2022
Page 32

A Belgian Portable Altitude Dial

Examines a challenging 18th-century portable altitude dial from Belgium, made of painted wood. The article discusses the function of its sunrise and hour scales and proposes possible, albeit fiddly, methods of operation using a cord and bead, given the likely absence of a gnomon or alidade.
Dials: Portable, How Sundials Work

Sue Manston

September 2022
Page 34

New Research on Medieval Sundials

A summary of recent international research into medieval sundials. Highlights the Fachkreis Sonnenuhren database (696 German objects) and debates whether scratch dials are pilgrim symbols. Mentions new findings on medieval texts describing unequal-hour sundials and the construction of polar style dials.
How Sundials Work, Historical Dials, Dials: Mass Dials

Mario Arnaldi
Karlheinz Schaldach
Denis Schneider

September 2022
Page 36

A Note on the Vanished Dial in the Privy Garden, Whitehall

Provides a historical account of the magnificent pyramidal and multiform dial set up by Father Hall in Whitehall's Privy Garden in 1669. Cites a German traveller's journal, noting that the dial was seen in ruins in July 1710, which is the last known sighting of the contraption.
Dials: Multi Faced, Historical Dials

Peter de Clercq

September 2022
Page 38

Sundials Old and New at The Waterways, Great Yarmouth

Investigates the sundials at The Waterways in Great Yarmouth after its £2.7 M restoration. Describes the replacement of two historical dials with new horizontal dials, likely made by Brad Dillon, featuring inscriptions related to writers Anna Sewell and Charles Dickens.
Dials: Horizontal, Historical Dials, Restoration projects

Christine Northeast