St Mary’s Church., Astley

Before the Norman invasion which brought the mass dial to Britain the Saxons were carving their own sundials. These, though carefully engraved, were faulty in that they had a horizontal gnomon unsuitable for any latitude other than the equator. They also divided the day into four ’tides’ rather than hours. The white stone seen high on a tower buttress is all that remains of one of these. It must have been originally on a previous church since the present building is actually the the chancel of a collegiate church built in 1343. When Arthur Mee (The King’s England series - Warwickshire) described it in 1936 he could see a semicircle and some irregular rays but continued erosion has erased almost everything. The stone measures about 450mm square. From the churchyard can be seen Astley Castle which has recently undergone some restoration to make it partly habitable.