59 
SUNDIALS. 
PLATES 115, 116, 117, 118. 
VER since the sixteenth century sundials have occupied a foremost place among 
the ornamental adjuncts of a garden. Although, of course, they were originally 
regarded entirely from the utilitarian standpoint, it was not long before it became 
the custom to devote considerable attention and skill to their design, and they have 
frequently survived in their position when all other trace of the garden has 
disappeared. In these days it cannot be claimed that a sundial is of much practical 
use, yet everybody has a tender regard for them, and no formal garden would be 
considered complete without one. Their mottoes often serve to suggest the constant flow of time, or to 
inculcate a spirit of quietude and meditation. From the point of view of the garden designer, a sundial 
is often a very valuable accessory, as it may mark some prominent point, perhaps as the centre of a rose 
garden, or, when placed on a terrace, to lead the eye along some pleasant vista. A sundial may be made 
to excite the spirit of curiosity, and like one that formerly existed at Whitehall, to plentifully sprinkle 
the onlooking stranger with water; a playful trick to which our ancestors were somewhat addicted. 
“What a dead thing is a clock,” wrote Charles Lamb, “compared with the simple altar-like 
structure and silent heart language of the old dial. It stood as the garden-god of Christian gardens. 
Why is it almost everywhere banished ? If its business use be superseded by more elaborate inven¬ 
tions, its moral uses, its beauty, might have pleaded for its continuance.” To-day its charm has been 
recognized, and it is reinstated amidst its most fitting setting, the garden. 
The subject of sundials has already called forth much research and labour from such authorities 
as Mrs. Gatty, and Messrs. MacGibbon and Ross. In Mrs. Gatty’s work 1 is to be found an extensive 
collection of mottoes, but the dials illustrated do not appear to have been selected with due regard to 
their artistic beauty. The Scottish examples illustrated by Messrs. MacGibbon and Ross, 2 although 
always quaint, are also frequently lacking in beauty. 
On Plates 115 and 116 are illustrated some examples of English sundials. That from Northenden, 
Cheshire, which is in the churchyard, consists of a baluster-like shaft, with spiral flutings in the lower part. 
That from Chiswick Plouse, which stands in a grass walk not far from the house, has its base ornamented 
with well modelled acanthus leaves. The leaden figure of a negro slave is well known both as a 
support for sundials and for vases. The example here illustrated is from Enfield Old Park, Middlesex, 
but similar figures exist at Arley Hall, Cheshire; the gardens of the Inner Temple, and elsewhere. 
One is also shown in the centre of the kitchen garden in Kip’s view of Sandywell. Another dial from 
Enfield, shown on Plate 115, is of about the period of Grinling Gibbons, and consists of a fluted 
baluster raised on two circular steps, and ornamented with beautifully modelled Cupid heads, supporting 
the table. The remaining example is from the churchyard at Prestbury in Cheshire. 
Two of the dials illustrated on Plate 116 are from the gardens at Wrest, in Bedfordshire, and both 
are of about the same date, namely, the middle of the eighteenth century. One contains an elaborate 
monogram both on the gnomon and on the base: the other has a gnomon of much simpler form, and 
the base is ornamented with acanthus leaves and delicate little swags of flowers and fruit. It is 
octagonal and supports a table of rather large dimensions. The example from Belton House in 
1 “ The Book of Sundials,” Fourth Edition, 1900. 
3 “The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland,” 1887-1892. 
O 
