Surprisingly, Canterbury is very short of nice sundials. There are two
though that are worth a visit in museums.
One is the "Canterbury Pendant", a Saxon altitude dial which was found
during building work around the cathedral in 1938. It is made of
silver, about two inches long, and a replica is kept in the City Museum
in Stour Street. (They also have a shepherd's or pillar dial, half of
a Nuremburg diptych of 1559 by Hieronymus Reinmann, and a very simple
slate dial by Richard Melvin, approx 1860.)
The second is in St Augustine's Abbey, which is maintained by English
Heritage and is open to the public. In one of the display cases in the
entrance hall is a tile said to date from the 15th or 16th century,
inscribed with hour lines for VI am to VI pm, crudely made but quite
accurately delineated as a scientific dial for Canterbury's latitude.
It is quite a puzzle, as the date (attributed by archaeologists from the
nature of the tile) seems too early for such a layout.
Warrington Hogg's "Book of Old Sundials" illustrates a dial on an
elaborate pedestal in the Dane John Gardens. The dial and pedestal have
gone but were replaced in 1999 by a modern dial (not a replica), on a
replica pedestal. It is worth a visit.
The only other out-door dial I know of is on a house at 79 Old Dover
Road. It is quite nice, but not of any great historical interest.
I hope you have an enjoyable trip!
Best wishes,
John Foad
In message <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Marcin Egert
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes
Hello friends,
I'm going to visit Cantenbury in England. I plan to spend there about
one week. So I think it would be a nice idea to see any "gnomonical stuff".
The problem is I don't know what is worth visiting there. I suppose
that mass dials could be present in the region but I'm not sure. I have
no idea where
should I go, what to see etc. Is there anyone who could help me to
organize my time in Cantenbury - from gnomonical point of view of course :) ?
Regards,
Marcin
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Czas plynie wolniej niz myslisz - zobacz to !
www.zegarysloneczne.pl
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John Foad
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