Primavera Restaurant, Knutsford

An excellent bronze sundial although a little too high to be easily readable. It was made in 1908 for Richard Harding Watts who was responsible for some of the unusual buildings in Knutsford which Pevsner considers, ’crazy grandeur’. Watts was not an architect but he managed to get some architects to design what he had in mind. The style can only be described as ’Watts’, see The Kings Coffee House, also on King Street. On the dial it says, ’Made for Richard Harding Watts by the ’Solar Instrument Company Manchester’. Nothing is known of that company, but certainly Watts’ ideas would be incorporated into the design of the dial. Also on the dial is the date, ’Anno Domini MCMVIII’, ’Latitde 53 18 N’, and ’Knutsford 192 feet above sea level’. The motto across the top of the two faces, ’Lord through this hour be Thou my guide, So by Thy power no foot shall slide’, is the same as that on the ’Big Ben’ bell at the Palace of Westminster. The asymmetrical appearance of the dial is due to one face facing NW and the other SW. This a multiple, prism or diptych dial. It is really an important part of Knutsford’s heritage.