Clearview, 59 High Street Eydon Scientific sundials, designed to work with our modern concept of hours of a fixed length, appeared in this country from the 16th century onwards.
The making of these dials was considered to be part of a Gentleman's education, a practical application of geometry. We currently know of seven domestic dials in the village, plus a least one fragment built into a wall at the Partridge Lane, one missing one that used to be above the entrance to the church, and the most recent, the Millennium Sundial on the church tower.
These dials were built not to tell mass time, but were mainly used to calibrate the inaccurate clocks and watches of the period. On the street end of the south wall of Clearview, is this fine scientific dial, clearly dated 1641, the year before the start of the Civil War. The gnomon is not original, being too acute for this latitude. The initials: B, with E and K below; suggest that the house belonged to Edward and his wife Katherine Bull. The Bulls were an old Eydon family, whose records in the village go back to the 15th century.
Photographer: Dr Kevin Lodge
Image lent by : Dr Kevin Lodge
Connected Photos: AP055 | AP057 | AP058 | AP059 | AP060 | AP061 | AP062