66 



and with a greater number due east, or nearly so, than is usually 

 met with. They are as follows : eight churches within 4*" each 

 way, or 4° N. and S. of east ; the Cathedral at 6°, and nineteen 

 churches from 9° to 27°, all north of east ; and four churches from 

 5° to 20° south of east. 



There is a theory that churches were set to the rising sun on the 

 day of the saint to whom the church was dedicated. So far, how- 

 ever, as the group of churches in the table, and the twelve in 

 Yorkshire alluded to, can be taken as proof, this theory is without 

 any sufficient foundation. An examination of the table will show 

 that only in two or three instances of St. Marys and St. Michaels 

 set nearly true east is there even an approximation to the orient- 

 ation implied by this theory ; while, on the other hand, we find 

 churches with the same dedications set at widely-different bearings. 

 It is also to be observed that while for the group of eighty-seven 

 churches there are only twenty-four patron saints, the festival days 

 of thirteen of the number are in the winter on days which would 

 give orientations much further south than any of the group. 

 Thus, St. Andrew's day is, as every Scotchman, and I may 

 also say every Penrithian, knows, on the 30th of November, 

 when the sun rises about 40° south of true east ; but instead of 

 that saint day orientation, we find six St. Andrews set from 4° to 

 22° north of true east; neither do I find on comparing the 

 dedications with the orientations of the large number of city 

 churches before referred to, that they lend themselves to the 

 saint's day theory any better than do our northern group. I need 

 not, however, pursue the subject further ; a glance at the table will 

 show that the Patron Saint-day theory is untenable. I will only 

 further point out that, when we correct the dates of the saints' 

 days for the "old style," by advancing them five to eleven days 

 further into the year, according to the early or late period in 

 which the church was built, even these occasional approximations 

 of saint-day to actual orientations will be very likely to disappear. 



On the theory of the orientation being fixed by the rising sun, 

 a reference to the table will show the time of year when any 

 church in the list was commenced; and on the supposition that 



