BRIDOL is the British Sundial Society's Register of Fixed and Mass Dials, which gives detail and photographs of about 8000 fixed sundials and 3000 mass dials in the UK.
Some of these are in private gardens, but the majority are publicly available.
Boughton Monchelsea Place is only accessible during a small number of public events throughout the year. The sundial comprises a horizontal and two vertical components. The horizontal dial has the motto: ’Tempus Fugit’, and two motifs, one of a 3-transom cross staff and another of an hourglass. It has six place names (Bantam, Surrat, Jerusalem, Tenarif, Port Royall and Mexico), and a zenithal orthomorphic projection with two moveable pointers to yield azimuth and altitude. The gnomon has a nodus for use in altitude determination above 45 degs. Hours are shown as IV - XII - IV - VIII, read from the inside, divided to 5 and 3 minutes. Arabic numerals mark every 15 minutes, and inward pointing stylised fleurs de lys mark the half hours. The noon line runs corner to corner of the octagonal dialplate. The gnomon carries E and W direct facing dials showing 4-11am and 1-8pm, and may be newer than the main dial plate. The pedestal is a rough stone column, partly bulbous, with an octagonal top and base on a square plinth.
The dial was cleaned in 1973. It is similar to the 17th century SRN 5753 in Somerset, which may have been a prototype for it.
Ref: Taylor G.E. J. Brit. Astr.Ass. 84 184 (1974)
Ref: BSS Monograph No 5.
2003
1999
Boughton Monchelsea Place, Church Hill, Boughton Monchelsea, ME17 4BU, Kent
