Church Sundial - Waltham Abbey, Essex, UK
N 51° 41.246 W 000° 00.220
30U E 707107 N 5730525
This sundial is near the south west corner of Abbey Church of Waltham Holy Cross and St Lawrence at Waltham Abbey. There is a large tree opposite so it probably does not get much sunlight except in winter.
Waymark Code: WMJB71
Location: Eastern England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/23/2013
Views: 2
There is a paragraph in the
Travel to Eat Blog that mentions this sundial and explains how sundials used
to be considered more accurate than early clocks:
Prior to the invention of accurate clocks, in the
mid-17th Century, sundials were the only timepieces in common use, and were
considered to tell the “right” time. The Equation of Time was not used.
After the invention of good clocks, sundials were still considered to be
correct, and clocks usually incorrect. The Equation of Time was used in the
opposite direction from today, to apply a correction to the time shown by a
clock to make it agree with sundial time. Only after about 1800 was
uncorrected clock time considered to be “right”, and sundial time usually
“wrong”, so the Equation of Time became used as it is today, to correct
sundials from clocks. The picture above is a sundial on the side of Waltham
Abbey church.
Wikipedia
tells us about the church:
The Abbey Church of Waltham Holy Cross and St Lawrence
is the parish church of the town of Waltham Abbey, Essex in England. It has
been a place of worship since the 7th century. The present building dates
mainly from the early 12th century and is a fine example of Norman
architecture. To the east of the existing church are traces of an enormous
eastward enlargement of the building, begun following the re-foundation of
the abbey in 1177. In the late middle ages, Waltham was one of the largest
church buildings in England and a major site of pilgrimage; in 1540 was the
last religious community to be closed during the Dissolution of the
Monasteries. It is still an active parish church for the town.
The monastic buildings and those parts of the church east of the crossing
were demolished at the dissolution, and the Norman crossing tower and
transepts collapsed in 1553. The present-day church consists of the nave of
the Norman abbey church, the 14th-century Lady Chapel and west wall, and a
16th-century west tower, added after the dissolution.
Harold Godwinson is said to be buried in the present churchyard.