George Court, Portsmouth

Spherical dial. At the time of our photograph there were no numerals on the dial, but it formerly had hour numbers marked around the equator, so they have been lost in repainting. As well as 24 hour lines, the dial has an equator and tropic lines. The time can be read at the terminator - where the edge of the shadow crosses the equator, but this is rather indistinct. A curved, moveable gnomon is present but has unfortunately become unmoveable, perhaps due to paint. By moving it until its shadow is minimised, time could be told more accurately. Behind the dial are plaques recording that Lord Nelson spent his last night in England at the George Hotel that was then on this spot. It was bombed in 1941, so it seems unlikely that the dial predates that event.