Re: high dials
Frank Evens wrote: >glass pictures are too high up to be understood. The alternative explanation >is that the work was done "to the greater glory of God" as only he could see >it. ...which brings to mind the phrase: "...too heavenly-minded to be any earthly use!" ;-) Tony Moss. -
Re: high dials
trees, or hills). - Original Message - From: "Frank Evans" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Sundial" Sent: Monday, March 21, 2005 2:43 AM Subject: high dials Greetings, fellow dialists, Patrick Powers comes to the defence of Escomb dial as a readable timepiece but of course in that case why put it as high as six metres up in the first place. There is plenty of room below. I fancy the puzzle remains. As to medieval buildings not being linear, from memory nineteenth century Truro cathedral has a bend in it. Still, it was designed by a medievalist. Frank 55N 1W - -
Re: high dials
This correspondence reminds me of unreadable dials I have encountered and wondered about, though on a far smaller scale. For example SRNO 1958 at Weston, Notts, is a nice horizontal of 1694, but it is mounted on a pillar in the churchyard (not near the church) at a height of nearly 6 feet, and who could use that to set their clocks or watches? And a well delineated reclining horizontal on the interior sill of a south window in Holy Trinity Dartford, Kent, is 7 feet above the floor! This one is admittedly a memorial, but it still seems odd to put it where you can only read it with a step ladder. I suppose we have to accept that sundials have often been seen as a "feature" rather than things useful in their own right. -
Re: high dials
in the churchyard (not near the church) at a height of nearly 6 feet,>> I think that these dials on high pillars, there are lots of them, were meant to be read whilst on horseback. -
RE: high dials
There is a moderate sized brass South facing sundial about 25 feet up at the top of a stair turret at Axbridge church, Somerset. I've always wondered how it was to be read - unless you could climb out onto the roof and peer over the edge. But it wouldn't be much use for setting the clock, either. Unless of course, following Mike Shaw's suggestion, horses were MUCH, MUCH bigger at the start of the 19th century - or perhaps the then Squire had a personal elephant with a really spectacular howdah? ;-) Andrew James PRI Limited, PRI House, Moorside Road Winchester, Hampshire SO23 7RX United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 1962 840048 Fax: +44 (0) 1962 841046 www.pri.co.uk The Intelligent Metering Company This correspondence is confidential and is solely for the intended recipient(s). If you are not the intended recipient, you must not use, disclose, copy, distribute or retain this message or any part of it. If you are not the intended recipient please delete this correspondence from your system and notify the sender immediately. This message has been scanned for viruses by MailControl -
Re: high dials
Dear Frank and All, There seem to be many high dials around. One in particular is at Dunchurch where we had a couple of Conferences a few years ago. Did anyone actually see it? It is, I think, a scratch dial and is right at the top of the tower. Perhaps it was put there for the pigeons ;-) I have some pictures if anyone is interested. Mike Cowham, Cambridge.
Re: Re: high dials
> Message date : Mar 21 2005, 05:43 PM> From : "The Shaws" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>> To : "John Foad" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "Sundial" > Copy to : > Subject : Re: high dials> <> in the churchyard (not near the church) at a height of nearly 6 feet,>>> > I think that these dials on high pillars, there are lots of them, were meant to be read whilst on horseback.> > -> > Whatever you WanadooThis email has been checked for most known viruses - find out more here
Re: Re: high dials
Hi, as you know my researche is faced on medieval sundials, and usually I find them almost at eye hight, but sometime I found many very high on the wall. In some case I may know why. One example for all: in Piacenza (Italy) there is a magnificent sundial on the cathedral, it is a statue with the sundial in his hands (you may see it in my article on GI (orologi solari medievali a 'tutto tondo'). The statue is more than 10 meter hight on a pillar of the church and the lines are very hard to be read. I suppose that all the medieval sundials were painted so they were more easy to be read even in hight places but nevertheless more than ten meter is too much. One may puzzle on it: "why so hight?", but the reason is lighted by the name of the squeare facing the dial. The squeare is named "little squeare of the cloisters". Today the cloisters and the cemetery of the priests, that was inside the cloisters, are not more there. The name of the squeare say "cloisters", this may mean two levels of cloister, one up the other. I saw other double cloisters in my trip looking for medieval sundials, and just in another one in South of Italy I found a medieval sundial easy readable only standing on the floor of the second level cloister, the dial, not more than 30 cm diameter, was very close to the roof and unfindable from the ground, while at the second cloister level you may find it al eye level. Mario -Mario ArnaldiVia Cavour, 57c48100 RavennaLat. 44° 25' N - Lon. 12° 12' EItaly-
Re: Re: high dials
<> <> It was the 16th century equivalent of the McDonalds Drive Thru Mike Shaw
