Old Vicarage (3), East Ruston

Do not rely on SatNav. Take the B1159 north from Stalham. After about 2 miles, pass a church on your right, turn right in to Vicarage Road, and find the Old Vicarage on your right. The owner states that the dial was purchased in a country house sale in the early 1980s and had lain under a hedge in the garden until being erected in 2015. It is known as ‘the Scottish sundial’, though some features make this unlikely (eg the numerals carved in relief, and the finial on top with an animal holding a shield with vertical dial on it, are both unusual in a Scottish dial). Nevertheless this is a fine multi-facetted dial, mounted on a tall plain stone pillar. It is a dodecahedron with dials and gnomons on all inclined faces, and is surmounted by a standing lion holding a vertical south dial. All faces have elevated upright Arabic numerals, and scrollwork decoration in any unused areas. The dial appears to be a detailed copy of SRN 0040 at Barrington Court, Ilminster.