Patrick Powers wrote (Friday, August 01, 2003 9:10 AM) < A propos the matter of the fixing of gnomons to stained glass dials - here's a bit of a conundrum for you. Would you have chosen the fixing holes on the Bucklebury dial? It declines about 13 degrees West yet the holes seem in a very strange place for that orientation... Was the dial perhaps wrongly made in the first place or was there a most interesting gnomon support.... Perhaps we shall never know. >
and John Carmichael wrote in reply (01 August 2003 22:01) < Looks to me like that dial has big problems too. The 12 o'clock numeral is where it should be for a direct south wall, but the 6 am and 6 pms don't line up with the center. Andrew James was there last week. Andrew, do you remember if this is a south wall? > Actually the Bucklebury dial is in a North wall or window :-) . It has been moved from its original site - probably at a (demolished?) house belonging to the Stevens family who lived nearby - to its present position next to the Squire's pew in Bucklebury church. Interestingly the precise cadencing of the shield indicates a Stevens who died earlier in the 17th century so this 1649 dial seems to have been made as a memorial or other remembrance by or for a descendant. It should face somewhat W of S as Patrick says. I didn't notice anything wrong with the delineation on that basis but it has been rather carefully and cleverly offset from the vertical centre line to give a better visual balance to the hours at the E and W edges by moving the vertical gnomon root - XII line to the W (now E, to the right seen from inside). Of course the top right numerals which look like VI and VII are really (I presume) VII and VIII, the final I in each case being hidden by the present leading - hence the odd "VI-VI" appearance which misleads at first glance. It would seem that the gnomon had a substyle foot as if for a direct South gnomon (which would have to have been "folded" westwards) as well as a pair of bracing stays, one each side, so that there are three lower fixing holes which is unusual I think - most have only two for a V-shaped foot or stay to the gnomon and omit the third. It is so carefully made and well drawn that I think a mistake is not very likely but that is only my suggestion. However the 1652 dial no. 33 on the SGS web page has a very similar 3-hole fixing - the date is very close and perhaps there is a connection there? The numerals and the cross patty, and the quarter hour marks, dots, and hour lines all appear extremely similar in draughtsmanship and form so would it be unreasonable to suggest the two dials might be by the same hand? I'd like to see a close up of the fly of no. 33! Re Ledbury: The church guide to the windows refers to "this very rare 17th century stained glass sundial", and says that for many years it was upside down before the reglazing of this window by the Friends in 1988. I believe that when I saw it (June 2000) it was the right way up though of course that could have been wishful thinking :-) . Regards Andrew James -
