Yesterday afternoon we drove over to the home of our old friends, Brenda and Warren (Sorry Warren, should have said our friends of long standing, Brenda and Warren. They live in the bungalow shown in the above photo, a few miles from here.
Their garden adjoins the Churchyard shown above. After we'd drunk coffee with them and talked about family news, I adjourned to the Church to take a couple of photos I've long wanted., and which are shown below.
The Church has two so called 'scratch dials', although I think Mass dial is the more appropriate name. These two are on adjacent buttresses on the south side of the church. These are of medieval date, used long before the invention of mechanical clocks, and originally wouldn't have shown the 'double twelve' hours, but the times of the daylight Church Services, i.e. Lauds, Prime, Vespers, and Compline. When these times were shown the attendant (usually, I would think, the Parish Priest) would ring the Church bell for the appropriate Service, or mass. These Mass Dials were probably 'scratched' by a priest, and would work quite well enough to regulate the time for a country parish, upon the insertion in the central hole of a twig - as a gnomon (good Scrabble word). It's nice to see that someone keeps them still in working order - they both had their twigs in situ.
They are a nice connexion between the distant past and the present day.
4 comments:
You record things that most of us don't even notice, Mike!
I used to think a sundial with a Gnome on was a bit crass Mike.
Now we have an adjoining Church I'd better have a much closer look for special features before you drop by and see us....
Thank you, Zoe.
Hello Rog. I think I have a booklet on your church somewhere. I'd better mug up on it before we come your way, so I can impress you.
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