1 



+LODAN 



MfPRO 



HTE/^ 



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Figure 136. A Sun-dial at Great Edstone. 



SAXOX SUX-DIALS, MASOXS MARKS. AXD 

 COXSHCRATIOX CROSSES. 



Bv LEO L. W. G.WE and ARTHUR G.\LPIN. 



Till-; curious markings frequentK^ fi 

 the South Porch of pre- 

 Refcrmation churches — 

 isually from three feet to 

 -IX feet from the ground 

 i I'igureli?) — havepuzzled 

 nearly everyone who has 

 noticed them : and a 

 recent visitor to the parish 

 church of Skevton. in 

 -Norfolk, wrote to a pro- 

 vincial newspaper, asking 

 if anyone could tell him 

 the origin and use of what 

 he had heard described 

 locally as the " Sun-dial." 

 A correspondence was con- 

 tinued for upwards of 

 three months, and showed 

 not onl\- that the subject 

 is interesting to a very 

 large number of persons, 

 l)ut that the utmost con- 

 fusion e.xists as to what 

 these "Dials" really are. 

 "Masons" Marks," '"Con- 

 secration Crosses," "Pro- 

 tractors." and ■' Sexton's 

 ^\ heels " were in turn 

 suggested : the onl\- point 

 of agreement being that 

 they are not Sun-dials I 

 •At the close of the 



lund on. or near, correspondence the writers of the present article 



began to investigate the 

 subject, and the result 

 of their search for infor- 

 mation (in \\hich the\' 

 have been assisted b\- 

 clerg\- and laymen in all 

 [larts of Great Britain) 

 has not only proved most 

 interesting, but they- have 

 succeeded in answering 

 the original question — 

 " What are these ' dials " 

 and how were they used?" 

 In considering this 

 subject it is necessarj- to 

 constantly bear in mind, 

 first of all, the ways of 

 the post-Reformation 

 church restorer. To him 

 is due the '" migration of 

 stones," and he appears 

 to have acted upon some 

 such rule as " Here's 

 another stone with some- 

 thing on it : better not 

 tlu-ow it away : stick it in 

 soineichere : it doesn't 

 matter where '' . . . . 

 and in it went ! An 



, ^ . instance of this is seen 

 orcli. snowing the position ot .. mi ^- • 4. • \- • u 



the Sun-dial. '^t All Samts. Norwich, 



(The Dial enlarged is shown in the inset). where five of the Original 



127 



