The British Sundial Society

Scratch dials at West Hendred in Oxfordshire (ABOVE AND BELOW) and Alfriston, East Sussex illustrating the range of types, from freehand circles to compass-drawn, and with various numbers of lines. In theory, each line represents an hour: fix a peg of wood or iron in lead in the hole at the centre of the dial and the peg’s shadow will give you the time. In reality, they might function more as injunctions to prayer rather than accurate sundials – or simply be a form of pious graffiti. The British Sundial Society is compiling a register of all the Mass dials (also known as scratch dials) in the country. So far, 5,500 examples have been recorded and the society is keen to hear from anyon