Sundial - Fredericksburg VA
N 38° 18.507 W 077° 27.322
18S E 285316 N 4242891
A wrought iron sundial stands in the gardens of historic Chatham.
Waymark Code: WME8K1
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 04/18/2012
Views: 3
An iron sundial on a concrete base stands near the old kitchen (currently an NPS office) in the gardens of
Chatham Manor across the Rappahannock River from Fredericksburg, VA. The sundial is a sphere composed of five intersecting rings. The sphere is perched on a smaller orb. One of the diagonal rings is aligned as an arrow with the arrowhead on its upper end and the tail on its lower end. The arrow points north. Atop the sphere is a silhouette of a beast with a tail walking on his back legs with his front paws on a staff, also facing north. The sphere sits on a concrete pedestal. The sculptor is unknown, although according to
Chatham a landscape introduction, the statuary came from Kenneth Lynch & Sons. It is dated c. 1930.
Chatham Manor was originally built in the late 1700s. It went through several owners and changes over the next 150 years, including devastating damage during the Civil War, until the 1920s when Daniel and Helen Devore bought the property and began its restoration. They hired a landscape architect who extensively used statuary on the grounds, most notably in the gardens as accents and to draw visitors along the paths.¹
Today, the National Park Service owns the property. Although changes have been made to the original, ornate landscaping, some of the sculptures or exact replicas from the Devore years still remain, including the Sundial. Chatham is open daily from 9 AM to 4:30 PM. Admission is free.
¹ Gardens lost in time « HORTUS 2