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Ye
SUNDIAL BOOKE
By
T. GEOFFREY W. HENSLOW, M.A.
[Illustration]
LONDON
1914.
_ALL RIGHTS RESERVED_
[Illustration: T. Geoffrey W. Henslow.]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DEDICATION.
❧
To Wiltshire men I dedicate
This book, regardless of estate,
And only honour those who prove
By deeds, not words, their counties love.
The paltry honours men may give,
That last the feeble years we live,
Shall never influence thoughts sublime,
Or mar a work that deals with time.
Accept ye, then, my humble book,
Remembering all the hours it took
To build this work for it to reach
Beyond the force of human speech.
T. G. W. H.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Introduction 1
The History of the Sundial 3
Photograph No. 1 of Saxon Sundial, built into the South Porch of a 11
Norman Church, Stanton S. Quintin, Chippenham, Wilts.
Photograph No. 2 of the Saxon Sundial discovered by the Author at 13
Stanton S. Quintin, Chippenham, Wilts.
Famous Men and the Sundial, with Notes on Mottoes 15
The Setting of the Sundial 22
Poem, “My Desire” 27
Sketch to Poem, “The Sundial” 28
Poem, “The Sundial” 29
Sketch to Poem, “The Dial’s Motto” 30
Poem, “The Dial’s Motto” 31
Sketch to Poem, “The Maid and the Sundial” 32
Poem, “The Maid and the Sundial” 33
Sketch to Poem, “The Moon and the Dial” 34
Poem, “The Moon and the Dial” 35
Verses and Sundial Sketches 36
Additional Mottoes and Verses for Sundials 402
Names and Places where Sundials exist, with Index to Sketches and 416
Verses
Advertisements 423
INTRODUCTION.
In placing before the public this book on sundials and sundial verses I
suppose that I must conform to the usual order of things and apologise
for being on earth, but at the same time I am very grateful; and,
feeling so kindly disposed to FATHER TIME, I have ventured in verse to
extol his praises, and, with the kindly help of my artist, I have boldly
put before the public a work that has entailed considerable labour and
expense. If, then, any critic—confident in his or her powers of being
able to compile a work vastly superior in every detail to the one which
I have supreme pleasure in now placing before the public—should like to
enter the lists and vie with my humble efforts, I will gladly forgive
all criticism, and congratulate myself on having been instrumental in
securing for FATHER TIME a fresh devotee; and I will offer up my humble
prayers that he or she may prove to be a far more worthy servant than
myself.
But, apart from all levity, let me here simply testify to the onerous
nature of my self-imposed task, and express the hope that my untutored
efforts may in part, if not in whole, be appreciated by a few generous
natures who, being themselves unable to devote time to the compilation
of such a work, yet are grateful for this contribution (no matter how
faulty) to what has ever been a most pleasing and engrossing subject.
He would, indeed, be a mean man who, having received considerable
assistance in any undertaking, failed to acknowledge such on the first
opportunity; and I have the greatest pleasure in here testifying to the
untiring efforts of my artist, Miss D. Hartley, who has contributed so
largely to my work; indeed, I am sure that, without her talent, I should
receive but poor commendation from the general public.
All the sundials that figure in this work are dials that actually exist,
and although the settings are new, yet it is to be hoped that this will
in no wise detract from the value of the book. So many ancient dials are
to-day continually changing hands and being placed in new surroundings,
that although cognisant of the fact that it would be far more
interesting to illustrate my work with sketches showing the dial in its
original position, yet in the majority of cases I have proved this to be
impossible. I have, therefore, decided, whilst representing faithfully
the actual dials, to adopt quite new lines, and to illustrate my work
with a series of sketches in keeping with the age of each horologe, and
also to supplying a series of pictures calculated to suit the style and
nature of my book. Before referring to my poetical efforts, I will here
thank all those friends who have so kindly assisted me in my arduous
undertaking.
Principally, I am indebted to the kindness and generosity of Mr. Francis
Barker, of Clerkenwell, for his most valuable and interesting chapter
upon the setting of the sundial, and also for the loan of numerous
photographs and illustrations of various dials and gnomons. Mr. Barker’s
kindly help and interest has more than encouraged me in my undertaking,
and his wide and valuable knowledge on gnomonics is well known.
My most sincere thanks are also due to the following firms who have so
very kindly assisted me by permitting me to use in my book some
beautiful illustrations of sundials designed and made for existing and
future gardens:—Messrs. John P. White, Messrs. Pulham, Messrs. Joseph
Cheal & Son, Messrs. William Wood & Son, Messrs. Knowltons, Messrs. H.
W. Cashmore & Co.
It is not possible to mention the names of all those who have so kindly
assisted me in securing photographs of dials, or who have furnished me
from time to time with any required information; I will, therefore, but
express my great gratitude for every kindness, and venture to hope that
my book will meet with the approval of all.
If any reader finds it incumbent upon him to criticise adversely my
verses or mottoes, let me here plead a generous consideration. SIX
HUNDRED VERSES on one subject is a very big effort at any time, but how
much more so when each verse is intended of itself to be a separate
poem. Also, nearly all these verses have been written under the most
trying conditions—during the stress of arduous undertakings, and hours
devoid of comfort and surroundings congenial to a work of this
description.
If, then, any verse or verses appear to be weak, let the reader remember
that there has been no picking and choosing; for I have boldly published
all that I have written, well knowing that no two people see alike, and
that what may displease one may also find favour with another. Let,
then, those verses which do commend themselves to the reader be in his
or her eyes sufficient warranty for my book.
T. G. W. H.
The History of the Sundial.
CHAPTER I.
Who shall discover the age of the sundial, or fix with certainty the
year in which ye horologe was first invented to record the passing of
the day or perchance the hour? The archives of time will never reveal to
us the first dial that was invented to aid mortal man to regulate his
life and so fulfil his daily task. We can only at the best surmise what
the date may have been, and record existing information for the benefit
of posterity, trusting that new discoveries may throw fresh light upon
this most engrossing subject.
To the student of astronomy and mathematics, it will ever appear to be a
most natural event that the sundial should have been constructed to
record accurately the time of day; and such might doubtless express
surprise that the age of the earliest known horologe is not of greater
antiquity. But it must not be forgotten that the requirements of early
man were small, and time, although a most important consideration, was
not of the same value that it is to-day, in the highly civilised age in
which we live.
It is not my intention to give a long and detailed account of the
sundial, for I must confess that I am not sufficiently versed in its
chequered and varied history; but, nevertheless, I feel bound to include
in my book one or more chapters that shall supply a little information
upon the age, development, and construction of ye horologe.
But here I am at a loss to know where to start, for if I should deal
with the Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek, or Roman ages, doubtless I should
be ruled out of court, for a wise critic would question the lateness of
my starting point, and would prove conclusively that I ought to have
begun with Adam, who could not have missed the opportunity afforded him
of erecting a sundial in the Garden of Eden. Indeed, so hard is it to
fix a date for the earliest introduction of the sundial in its most
primitive form, that we can only allude with safety to its mention in
ancient writings and its discovery in various countries through
different ages.
Without doubt the Bible gives us the oldest records, and we may be sure
that wherever we get even the briefest allusion to the division of time,
we can assert the existence of a horologe with little hesitation.
Job (vii. 2) alludes to the monitor in the words—“as a servant earnestly
desireth the shadow,” and the miracle of the sundial of Ahaz has been
quoted and handed down for centuries.
Sundials exist in most countries in various forms, differing in
construction according to the knowledge of the age in astronomy and
mathematics, and showing clearly at different periods in the history of
a race the outside influence of the greater wisdom attained to by many
students in the art of horology.
If we devote considerable attention to the history of sundials we almost
unconsciously find ourselves dividing them into the following
groups:—Wall dials, pedestal dials, and portable dials. Without doubt it
will never be surely solved as to which is the older of the first two,
for who can ever know the resources of primitive man, the knowledge of
the ancients, or the earliest discoveries of the wandering tribes of the
East?
How little we really know of ancient China or Japan, where sundials
abound. When the history of the horologe of the West still remains
imperfect, who will determine that of the East? Let us solve the riddle
of Avebury or Stonehenge with certainty before we can decide the age of
any other likely form of horologe; let us move the sands of the desert
of Egypt and dig down into every ruin of the past before we can hope to
fix a date at which mortal man constructed a dial, mural or pedestal, to
record the passing of the day. Although priority in the age of the first
two groups of dials may remain an uncertainty, yet the third group of
portable dials can be safely given a late date.
By portable dials I would not have my readers include the tent pole
often used by wandering Arabs to cast a shadow, or the possible use of a
stone of any size by early man, but the host of small pocket and ring
dials made of metal, ivory, wood, or stone that are frequently found in
our own land, on the Continent, and in the East.
There is no more engrossing study than the age of the sundial, and to
those interested in gnomonics any fresh information or unrecorded
history is of the greatest importance. It is, however, left to the
excavator of buried cities and ancient ruins of the past to shed fresh
light upon such a well-worn subject, and the humble historian but
faithfully records and hands down to posterity the result of his
discoveries.
The minutes of to-day are as the hours of yesterday, and the necessity
of an accurate time-keeper is in this present century more keenly felt
than ever it was in the past. A glance at the sky to determine the
position of the sun in respect to well-known landmarks may have sufficed
the races of primitive man, but as generation succeeded generation, and
regular business occupations and more home life commenced, the
observance of stated intervals of the day must have become a necessity;
so that, if the old proverb be true, necessity became the mother of
invention, and in due course gave birth to the sundial, which, as time
went on, developed until it reached the perfect stage in which we find
it to-day.
Perhaps some day excavations in the Holy Land will reveal fresh forms of
horologe that will put into the shade the age of the present dials from
ancient Greece, but until then we have little data other than vague
allusions to them in the historical records of the past to go upon. It
is very doubtful whether ancient Egypt with all its vast learning and
resources will ever throw fresh light upon the subject of gnomonics.
Situated so close to the Equator, both the horizontal and vertical dials
would be of small service.
The angle of the gnomon being equal to the latitude of the place, the
few degrees either side of the Equator would necessitate such a small
elevation that a horizontal dial would be of little help. Again, a
vertical dial would show the time for only a very short portion of the
year, since the dial plate would have to be almost parallel with the
rays of the sun. Still, doubtless, records may yet be found that will
testify to its existence, if not in ancient Egypt, in lands that felt
Egyptian influence and benefited by their learning and wisdom.
Theories are problematical and surmises are often without foundation,
but I would indeed venture to think that it is more than possible that
the sundial played some part in the rectification of the Babylonian
calendar in 747 B.C., which took place about nineteen years before the
accession of King Ahaz, in whose reign it was clearly alluded to.
The oldest known dials at present are those of Grecian origin, and for
the most part are of the hemicyclean form invented by the Chaldean
Berosus, who lived about 340 B.C., and his particular shape and
construction of dial was in use for centuries. Four of these sundials
were discovered in Italy: one at Tivoli in 1746, another at Castel Nuovo
in 1751, another at Rignano in 1751, and the fourth at Pompeii in 1762.
It is thus evident that this form of sundial which was used by the
Arabians (who gave great study to gnomonics) was popular also amongst
the Romans. An interesting specimen of this form of horologe, which can
now be seen in the British Museum, was found at the base of Cleopatra’s
Needle in 1852. This dial is concave, and is made from a stone 16½
inches high by 17 inches wide, the depth of the bowl being 10 inches;
the hours marked are the twelve unequal hours by which the Greeks
divided up their day.
This dial—by no means satisfactory—doubtless owed much of its popularity
to its novel construction, and to the fact that it was more or less of a
portable nature. But the knowledge that it was constructed 360 years
after the known existence of the sundial (see Isaiah xxxviii. 8), leads
us to surmise that other forms of dials were in use at the same time. It
is a known fact that the ancients were familiar with declining dials,
and the Tower of the Winds at Athens, which still exists, has on its
walls, built in octagonal shape, no fewer than eight of this kind. And
although the date of these dials is evidently of a later period than the
actual building, they certainly belong to a very early time. However,
the Greeks were, as we know, well versed in the art of dialling, and
without doubt gave a lead in this study to other nations.
Herodotus, writing in 443 B.C., says that the Greeks acquired their
knowledge of the sundial from the Babylonians; the Roman writers in turn
give evidence of their acquisition of this instrument from the Greeks.
Although the Romans were backward in the science of gnomonics and slow
to adopt any particular form of horologe, they eventually constructed
many a beautiful dial of varied design. The first sundial was erected in
Rome in the year 290 B.C., this being taken from the Samnites by
Papirius Cursor. Another was brought to Rome by Valerius Messala from
Catania 261 B.C., but it was not until 164 B.C. that, as far as we know,
a dial constructed at Rome was set up by order of Q. Marcius Philippus.
Cicero, writing in 48 B.C. to Tiro, mentions that he wished to place a
sundial at his villa in Tusculum, and at a later date we see Romans
erecting sundials in every possible corner of their villas and grounds.
The first known dial in Britain, with the exception of the one or two
reputed Roman dials discovered in this country, are those of Saxon
origin found on some of our ancient churches. As far as we know nearly
all the earliest mural examples are semicircular, and although the
spaces into which the dial is divided vary considerably in number and
size, they seem to point to the practice of the early Norsemen dividing
time into tides. And since it is known that they apportioned the time
into eight tides, and that the oldest horologes have the fewest spaces,
it seems more than likely that many dials so marked owe their existence
to these hardy invaders.
Bede (our earliest historian) records the fact that the hours were
shorter or longer according to the seasons, and this testimony is borne
out by existing dials, generally found built into ancient buildings, on
the sides of porches, and the jambs of windows. I myself discovered one,
only two feet off the ground, built into the east side of an old Norman
south porch, and the fact that the dial had been cut in order to fit the
stone into its place—added to its position—showed very plainly that it
had been taken out of an earlier building and used again. Without
hazarding any date as to the earliest form of horologe in this country,
I would but testify from my own experience that many dials of early
workmanship actually exist unnoticed on many of our ancient buildings,
principally churches. A close and careful examination of the walls of
such would, I am sure, reveal many a time-worn horologe of the past.
Generally they are found on faced stones built into porches, windows,
and corners of buildings, and consist of circles and half-circles,
divided by lines which radiate from a hole in the centre to the
circumference. The number of lines differ considerably and the spaces
are also of unequal size.
Evidence tends to prove that these dials are of Saxon and Norman times,
and I venture to think from their divisions that in many cases, although
found on Norman buildings, they tend to show that Saxon ideas continued
to exist in many things in spite of Norman influence. It would take many
generations at that period of the history of our country to supplant in
remote districts a recognised form of dial, and although the Norman
method of recording time was more accurate, doubtless it was but
gradually adopted.
The Saxons used the simple dial so long in vogue amongst the hardy
Northmen or Vikings, who, being a maritime race, founded their divisions
of time on the ebb and flow of the tide. First, the four tides, two high
tides and two low; then, further improving this, they subdivided these
divisions again into halves and quarters, thus making the day and night
equal to sixteen hours. In this country there exist many of their dials,
and some are very noteworthy.
There is an ancient dial built upside down into the wall of the church
in the village of Byland in the Hambleton Hills, which is thought to
have been made by a Dane in the ninth century. It bears the
inscription:—
“SVMARLETHAN HVSCARL—ME FECIT.”
(Sumarlethi’s House Carl made me.)
Over the south door of Weaverthorpe Church, Yorkshire, there is a
similar dial, only it is divided into twelve parts, every alternate line
being crossed. It has an inscription:—
“In Honore see Andreae Apostoli Herebertus Wintonie Hoc Monasterium
Fecit in Tempore Regn——”
The unfinished name is thought to be that of Reginald II., to whom in
942 King Edmund stood godfather. A remarkably fine dial of about 1064
exists over the south door of the ancient church at Kirkdale, and bears
a long inscription, which, being translated, reads:—
“Orm, Gamal’s son, bought S. Gregory’s Monastery when it was all
utterly broken and fallen, and he let it to be made anew from the
ground, to Christ and S. Gregory, in Edward’s day, the King; and in
Tosti’s day, the Earl. This is the day’s sun-marker, at every tide,
and Hawarth me made and Brand Provost.”
Another early dial exists over the church door at Bishopstone in Sussex.
It bears the inscription “Eadric,” and as a prince of the South Saxons
of this name lived A.D. 685, it is thought that this is its likely date.
It was whilst gazing at an ancient dial which I had discovered that the
following motto occurred to me:—
“The age of this dial, who can compute it;
So hazard no guess for man to refute it.”
Still, in spite of my couplet, I made notes in my book as to the
discovery of another Saxon horologe. Such is the nature of the keen
archæologist that he feels obliged to put dates to every find of
importance, although oft-times a more learned brother will dispel by
argument and proof very quickly his most sure convictions.
While attributing the early semicircular dial to the Saxons, evidence
strongly points to the fact that the many-rayed circular dials are of
the mediæval period. It will ever be very hard to determine the date of
many of these dials, as the age of a stone, cut and faced by the mason,
is an unknown quantity. And there is hardly a stone building in this
country that does not contain stone quarried from the demolished
buildings of the past. This being so, many a dial may now occupy a very
different position from that in which it was originally set.
As years moved on ye horologe was improved and immediately became more
popular. The time on the face of the dial was more divided, and from
being quite plain in appearance it gradually took a more ornate shape.
Sundials continued to be erected long after clocks came into use, and in
our land during the 17th century many very fine specimens were erected.
Doubtless royal patronage and interest had much to do with their
popularity, for we know that Charles I. took a keen interest in the art
of dialling, and himself caused a sundial to be set up in the Privy
Garden behind Whitehall, at Westminster. The beautiful dial at Holyrood
Castle, Scotland, is said to have been a gift to his Queen, Henrietta
Maria. When kings and princes set the fashion their subjects soon follow
suit, and thus we find that some of the most beautiful dials are of this
period.
Until watches began to be made in numbers the sundial ruled supreme;
clocks did not in any way diminish their popularity, and if the truth
were known doubtless only helped to cause a greater number to be
erected, since not only could they be relied upon to keep accurate time,
but also to serve for the setting of a clock when it had stopped. To-day
we introduce the sundial into our gardens more for an ornament than from
any wish to add to it a timekeeper, and it is the love of the antique
that causes old dials to change ownership and to be set up on new sites,
irrespective of the fact that they may have been constructed and set for
a different locality.
It is curious to note that although sundials have ever been in use,
since their discovery there seems to have existed from time to time what
I would like to call waves of popularity in the history of “ye
horologe.” Such are clearly marked by the many existing dials which
appertain to certain periods. If we could only get a census of dates, it
would be a matter of great interest to trace the state of the country at
the time of varying output, and to note the years of war and peace, of
prosperity and depression. I think it would be found that even as “ye
horologe” marks only _our_ sunny hours, so also the sunny hours of a
nation’s life has bade the sundial live.
The marked interest that has been taken in the sundial during recent
years shows it has still a great future before it. If, then, age can add
to its value, and yet in nowise impair its reliability, who will be
without such a garden ornament that gives also a gentle touch to what is
already a beautiful possession? Calling upon the thoughtful as it does
by many an apt line or verse to consider the brevity of time, it warns
and exhorts with far greater emphasis than the voice of man. Though only
of iron and stone, the work of men’s hands, it seems almost to gain our
sympathy, for given to one who has experienced the ravages of time, it
demonstrates the value of quiet endurance and resignation under trouble.
T. G. W. H.
[Illustration:
Photograph No. 1 of Saxon Sundial built into the South Porch of a
Norman Church, Stanton S. Quintin, Chippenham, Wilts.
]
[Illustration:
Photograph No. 2 of the Saxon Sundial discovered by the Author at
Stanton S. Quintin, Chippenham, Wilts.
]
Famous Men and the Sundial, with Notes on Mottoes.