Queen's College Sundial, Cambridge UK - Sundials on Waymarking.com

The Queen's College sundial is intriguing with many lines showing the time and position of the sun. The vertical dial declining slightly east of south is a sun and moon dial with a lunar table below. It shows equal hours with the long lines to the outer scale and antique temporal unequal hours between the declination lines. The declination lines traced by the shadow of the nodus on the polar gnomon are marked with Zodiac symbols. Other curved lines show the altitude of the sun. The azimuth of the sun is shown from the vertical lines marked with the compass directions. There is a scale for sunrise times on the left marked "Ortus Solis". The column on the right marked "Longitudo" can be used to determine the longitude of the sun with respect to the autumn equinox.

This sundial was originally painted in 1642. Some say Newton designed the dial but this is unlikely as he was born in 1642! . The bell tower above dates back to 1637. The dial was repainted in 1773 but then fell into disuse. It was restored about 1860 and has been repainted half a dozen times since 1911. It looked quite fresh when we visited on a BSS tour in April, 2006.

I should update my presentation "Timelines" that I gave in Cambridge and Vancouver by adding this dial as in has such interesting complexity. It is available on my website www.walkingshadow.info

My primary reference is "Cambridge Sundials" by Alexis Brookes and Margaret Stanier available form the British Sundial Society.

Sundial Type: Vertical - Wall mounted dial plate Related Web Site: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   10/07/2012 Happy Humphrey visited it