Vertical (Tea-Time) Sundial - Horniman Gardens, London Road, Forest Hill, London, UK
N 51° 26.480 W 000° 03.668
30U E 704236 N 5703002
Within Horniman Gardens, at Forest Hill in south London, there is a trail of sundials. These are of a variety of types that demonstrate how the sun is used to indicate the time. There are 12 sundials in all but only 11 are easily accessible.
Waymark Code: WMM6NZ
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 07/31/2014
Views: 2
Close to the first sundial in the trail, the scaphe sundial, there is a map showing the location of the others. As a suggestion, and to easily locate the others, pop in to the museum reception and ask for a (free) map of the museum and grounds. Return to the map and transfer the locations - it makes finding them a lot easier!
The Horniman Museum website tells us about this sundial:
Vertical Tea-time dial
Design and construction: John Moir, 2005
Most vertical dials are found on the sides of buildings. The Tea-time dial is tucked just behind the conservatory on a brick wall.
It faces slightly north of west. Technically, this is known as a declining dial as it does not face directly south.
The dial captures traditional summer 'Afternoon Tea' hours from 2.30 to 6.00pm. The gnomon is the short metal pole near the top of the wall with a red ball attached.
Reading the dial
Time is indicated by the shadow of the ball cast against the wall moving upwards through the afternoon. The dial is calibrated for British Summer Time so you do not need to add an hour to the time shown.
Correcting the "reading" |
Map of the sundials |