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.
This unusual small analemmatic dial is inset in the slate surround of the water feature in the inner courtyard of the Council building. It was initially provided with an apple-wood gnomon but the user now needs to provide their own pencil or similar, as shown.
The dial shows GMT hours V - XII - IV - VII, divided to 30, 15 and 5 minutes, with BST in Arabic numerals for 6am to 8pm. The elliptical time scale has a major axis of 40cm, and is offset by just over 6 minutes to allow for the longitude west of Greenwich. A detailed EOT chart gives mean time corrections.
The month scale has a chart on each side giving intermediate day positions for the gnomon. Below this is the motto ’Cotide aliquid addisce’ (Learn something new every day - ’Cotide’ being probably a slip for ’Cotidie’, an alternative spelling to ’Quotidie’, ’every day’).
The dial was designed by Robert Jackman using Micrografx software, and manufactured by Escott Signs of Gateshead.
2022
2022
2007
Civic Centre, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE1 8QF, Tyne & Wear
