A new Secretary?
The vacancy is still open - by all means contact me or the Chairman if you are interested.
The Cumbria conference.
Nothing further to report yet except that the booking form may now appear later in the March Bulletin, rather than the usual December. This is because of the later date of 15 - 17 May 2009. As a reminder, it is to be held in the Cumbria Grand Hotel, Grange-over-Sands. This will be our second in hotel style accommodation, partly to be just to the south of the Lake District. In addition to the scenic qualities, there are plenty of sundials to see in the area. I will be happy to receive advance notice of lectures or otherwise contact me if you have any queries.
Visit to Bramshill House.
This issue of the Bulletin carries an article on an early meridian line and other dials. The house was known for many years as the Police Staff College, and now with a different name to reflect the changing breadth of police training. The marvellous Jacobean Mansion was therefore closed to the general public, although researchers with an interest in the house and gardens were always welcome. The authorities will be happy to host a party from the Society and the curator of the building and library will give an escorted tour. Refreshments will be provided. This is a very rare opportunity, and suggested dates are June or July next year. There will be a relatively modest charge. Please contact me if you wish your name to be added to the list.
Since the article was typeset, the curator found a 58 page manuscript of handwritten notes and formulae about spherical trigonometry, astronomy and calculations for a meridian line, dated November 1770. A follow up article is therefore likely!
Doug Bateman
Clocks Magazine -"The Sundial Page".
It is likely that there will be a vacancy for the authorship of "The Sundial Page" in CLOCKS Magazine in the autumn of this year as, after twenty years in the post, I am proposing to retire. So, anyone who has a mind to write about sundials or related subjects should e-mail John Hunter, the editor of the magazine, at: editor@clocksmagazine.com and apply for the position.
The requirement for "The Sundial Page" is a maximum of about 1000 words, with one or two illustrations, usually in colour. The copy and the pictures are normally e-mailed to the Editor about a month ahead of the publication date. The Editor likes a "snappy" title, which I learned to my cost when I once submitted an article on "The Agricultural Sundials of Portugal", concerning the dials used in vineyards to regulate the flow of water to different areas, which the Editor altered to read "Having a Wine Time"…! Since then I have ‘toed the line’ and he has rarely made any other alterations. There is a small fee and a free copy of the magazine for the author. Nevertheless, there is quite a lot of pleasure in writing a short article of this nature and I believe that there are many who read this monthly column with appreciation.
Chris Daniel
New Monograph
I am pleased to announce that BSS Monograph No. 3, "Mass Dials on Yorkshire Churches", by Alan Cook, has recently been published. It will be reviewed in the December Bulletin. If any member wants to purchase a copy prior to that, it is available from me (Peter Lane does not want more stock as he is trying to get rid of what he already has!). Price is £7.00 inc. UK postage – enquire for overseas.
Margaret Stanier’s Papers
The high-value books and dialling effects from Margaret’s estate were auctioned at our last Conference. A number of smaller items remained when we cleared the cottage of her final items and, with her sister Jean’s kind permission, they are now being offered to the BSS membership. A list is included with this Newsletter. Offers for a blind auction should be sent to me by 1st October. There are no reserve prices at all – the highest bid, however low, will secure the item. As a guide only, I’ve tried to indicate roughly what I think each item might be worth. Postage will be charged at cost, though arrangements to collect items at Conference, Newbury or direct from me can be made. Note that items 7 and 8, the BSS Registers, can only be owned by a BSS member who signs a confidentiality agreement.
Sundials in Novels
Following my mention of the novella "The Horizontal Instrument", by Christopher Wilkins in the last Newsletter, our member Ken Clark of Elizabethtown, PA, has told me about another book. It is called "Secret of the Sundial", by Ramona Maher and was published in 1966. Although it is subtitled ‘a mystery for girls’, I couldn’t resist buying a cheap copy. It is set in El Paso, Texas and, although not really ‘my thing’ it could, perhaps, be suitable for a member to give to their children or grandchildren to try to get them interested in sundials.
John Davis
Register Notes
Browsing the internet I am always coming across old and new dials that are not in the Register. If you are feeling like an expedition, would you care to track down one or more of these?
Dials not in the Register
Then some more modern ones:
And finally a couple that we do have in the Register, but where good pictures and more details would be most welcome.
John Foad
01622 858583
Mass Dial Matters
Reports are being entered into the Register and some counties are now ‘completed’, and are available on request as follows: London, Isle of Wight, Scotland, Cornwall and Wales.
As there is currently no mechanism in place for making sales, these smaller counties can be provided as inspection copies. Edward Martin’s legacy will be incorporated gradually as there are some thousand reports to sort into county order. Deposit of records at York should start soon and indexing, deposit and retrieval procedures determined.
Alan Cook’s monograph on Yorkshire Mass Dials is an excellent and important publication and will be held as Register record together with Bob Adams’ Lincolnshire. Any further reports from Lincolnshire and Yorkshire will be published as ‘Lincolnshire Annexe’ and ‘Yorkshire Annexe’.
Alison Parsons is promising to show us lots of dials in the deepest Northamptonshire countryside (‘there is no mobile signal round here’) – can’t wait, as it is actually relatively unexplored.
A tailpiece event was my daughter spotting a mass dial high up at Bathford, Bath on a very post-medieval church (1700s and 1800s tower), just showing you can’t afford to dismiss any church in advance.
Museum Matters
Ian Butson has started the listings from the Museums Survey and has also extracted the sundials from Charles Aked’s very similar Survey of Clocks in Museums, which also resulted in some sundials being reported. Any Museum dial reports are still welcome – either to me or to Ian Butson at 60 Churnwood Road, Parsons Green, Colchester CO4 3EY.
A.O.Wood
01452 712953
Thanks to our website, our presence is known across the world and introduces more sundial enthusiasts to us. We would like to welcome a number of new members to the Sundial Society: Ricardo Cernic is, I believe, our first member from Brazil; Sally Bramson comes from Derbyshire; Mrs Bound is from Somerset; Charles E. Probst deals in antique clocks in Virginia, USA; Nigel Nichols from Devon was given membership as a gift from his school colleagues upon retiring after 30 years as a teacher; Sarah Tapp lives in West Sussex; Richard Gardiner is from Dulwich, London and Christopher Parfitt and family are from Hertford.
Jackie Jones
01273 673511
It's that magical time of the year again. Farmers are gathering in the harvest and we gather at Mary Hare Grammar School RG14 3BQ for our annual "Newbury One Day BSS meeting". Close to junction 13, M4 and A34 Berkshire. The date is the 27th September 2008 which is the 4th Saturday in September. All are warmly welcome including guests and visitors. School hall opens at 9am to 5pm for all your displays - indoors or out in the sunshine! Talks start at 11am. Offers of short talks and demos to David Pawley - email info at towertuime.co.uk
£8 donation per person please. Bring a lunch with you. Hot and soft drinks provided. .
Text please rather than voice to 07880 802 912 or phone the landline 01635 33519
Looking forward to seeing you all there.
David Pawley
The Society is again running its photo competition this year and an entry form is enclosed with this edition of the Bulletin.
The competition is open to all members of the Society and entries will only need to be submitted by early 2009 so there is still plenty of time to get out and about to find your winning shot.
This year we shall be awarding some additional winning certificates! These will be reserved for those who have never previously been officially placed in the competition. It is hoped that this new policy might encourage entries from those who might like to enter but feel somewhat inhibited because of the standard of some of our more experienced photographers. These extra certificates will not, however, affect the main awards which will be chosen from all submitted entries in the usual way.
Members may submit up to three entries. If you need more copies of the entry form then you can photocopy the enclosed form or download copies of it from the BSS web site. More information about the 2008 competition and its rules can be found on the entry form. Also on the BSS web site are last year’s results with links to the actual submitted entries. Have a look there to see the standard to beat!
In the meantime if you have any queries at all do please contact me.
Patrick Powers
The council of the BSS, in encouraging the making of new dials and the restoration of existing dials, is sponsoring another design competition. Dials made not earlier than January 2005 are eligible and the rules are expected to be much the same as in previous years. The Council has asked me to chair the panel of judges and submissions will close in December 2009. Copies of the rules and application forms, when approved by council, will be available from:-
J A Belk, 16 Colton Road, Shrivenham, Swindon SN6 8AZ
Decisions from the meeting of 3rd July 2008, which are not covered under other Newsletter items:
Bulletin.
A possible new printer has been identified, and their options and prices look attractive. John Davis was authorised .to proceed with a changeover if he remains convinced.
Bulletin.
It was agreed that authors should have two free copies plus others at cost price.
Sundial Photo Competition.
It was agreed that disabled members should be allowed to submit pictures taken by another to their directions.
Sundial Photo Competition.
A new prize will be given each year for the best photograph by a new contestant.
Library Security.
Graham Aldred will follow up the possibility of a security camera in the Thoroton Room.
Membership Secretary.
Jackie Jones was authorised to purchase a better printer, capable of satisfactorily handling label stationery and also with adequate speed for high volume letter runs
Web Site Layout.
Jackie Jones agreed to act as ‘non-technical/artistic’ advisor on the general design and layout of the site.
Dates and Venues for Future Meetings.
Thursday 30 October 2008, Nottingham; February / March 2009, venue tbd.
John Foad
At the BSS conference I announced next year's ‘Sundial Safari’ to Prague and Southern Bohemia. Unfortunately, this exciting trip must be put on hold until another time so, as an alternative, I have started putting together a UK Safari, this time to the East of England. It will be in mid-late September 2009 and will be for about 6 days duration. Suffolk, in particular, is very rich in dials and we hope to visit Bury St Edmunds, Aldeburgh, Woodbridge and local villages with longer trips to Norwich and Colchester.
As the hotel needs to be booked by January 2009 I would like to invite anyone interested to contact me (preferably by email) fairly soon and I will forward further details as they emerge.
Mike Cowham
Many Society members will know of the sundial trails posted on "Sundials on the Internet". There are now nearly 50 of them, mostly in the UK and Europe and a few in other places around the world including the USA, Canada, Ecuador, Australia and New Zealand.
Sundial trails are fun to do and they are very useful to travellers who find themselves in strange places and wish to view the local sundials.
The main criteria for sundial trails are that they should have clear directions for how to get from one sundial to the next, whether on foot, by bicycle, or in a car. Have a look at www.sundials.co.uk to see how some of the previous ones do this, some more successfully than others.
This year, the British Sundial Society has joined with Sundials on the Internet, and the prize money has been doubled, so the first prize is £250. The council recognise the role that sundial trails can play in spreading interest and knowledge of sundials amongst people, particularly young people, who have not yet become acquainted with them.
The closing date is 21 December 2008, so you still have time to make a little expedition armed with the BSS Register to construct an interesting sundial trail near you, or in some attractive other destination.
Full details are on http://www.sundials.co.uk/competition2008.htm
Piers Nicholson
Send your offers to John Davis (details on the inside back cover of the Bulletin) by 1 October 2008. No reserve prices. Values below are a guesstimate of what I think they might be worth, as a guide to bidding only.
Dr Jim Bennett
Sundials and the rise and decline of cosmography in the ‘long’ sixteenth century
Dr Jim (James A.) Bennett is Director of the Museum of the History of Science at Oxford University. He is also a Professorial Fellow of Linacre College. Previously he was a Fellow and Senior Tutor of Churchill College and Curator of the Whipple Museum of the History of Science, both part of Cambridge University. He has been President of the British Society for the History of Science and of the Scientific Instrument Commission.
Dr Bennett's interests lie in the history of practical mathematics from the 16th century to the 18th century, scientific instruments and astronomy. His books include The Divided Circle: A History of Instruments for Astronomy, Navigation and Surveying (Oxford, 1987) and (with others) London's Leonardo: The Life and Work of Robert Hooke (Oxford, 2003).
About the lecture
It is arguable that the sundial is the most popular and accessible class of object in the world of scientific instruments. Only a few categories of instrument have their own specialist societies and none is so successful as the sundial (unless we include clocks among scientific instruments): the web reveals some dozen national and regional societies. But for the most part dials today represent a dismal relic of a once vibrant and creative mathematical discipline. Because most of us think of dials today confined to the narrow task of telling the time, do we too easily project that assumption back to their more prestigious past?
The ‘long’ sixteenth century was the time when the discipline of cosmography gained great currency, popularity and esteem. Dealing with the universe as a whole and adopting the relationship between the heaven and the earth as a fundamental working principle, its rise dates from the beginning of the century, while by the end it was in terminal decline. In the same period, though not subject to the same decline, dialling advanced as a sophisticated mathematical science. Many leading cosmographers concerned themselves with designing and making sundials, which exhibited the same ‘universal’ qualities as their globes and maps. The lecture explores this relationship and proposes a repositioning of the discipline of dialling in the history of the practical mathematics of the Renaissance.
Members and the general public are welcome. Admission is free and there no need to book in advance for the lecture. Tea will be served from 5.30.
The lecture will be followed by a bookable buffet reception from 7.00 to 8.45 pm.
Sundial Society members are welcome to join us in the after-lecture buffet reception, a good occasion to mingle and make new acquaintances. The costs are £20 per person and (contrary to the lecture) advance booking is required as we need to know numbers for the caterers ten days ahead. The contact for this is the SIS Executive Officer, Peter Thomas, sis@sisoffice.org.uk or tel. 020 8582 3895.