National Sundial Database
For many hundreds of years sundials were the only way of telling time. Every church, many public buildings and most large homes had a sundial that ruled the daily life of those who lived nearby.
Many of those sundials still exist to day but there is no public available National Database of those sundials. As buildings are renovated many of those sundials are being destroyed or replaced.
Although sundials have ceased to be a necessary part of modern life there are many new sundials being commissioned as features and monuments. Many of these are quite startling an innovative and deserve public recognition.
Both these historic and modern sundials are an integral part of our national heritage and deserve to be recorded for posterity. So we are, with your help, setting up a National Sundials Database.
How can you help? Send us a a photo of any public sundial (new or old). If your photo is included in the database we will give you a £20 voucher towards the purchase of one of our sundials.
We have started this database by creating a record of the 11 public sundials immediately around us See the Taunton Sundial Trail.
You can contribute by sending us (via an email) photo of any public sundial that you come across along with a brief description of it's location and anything you can find out about it's history and designer.
If it is to commemorate a special event any details would be helpful.
For every photo our Database editor decides to include in the Nation Database we will give you a voucher worth £20 towards the purchase of one of our sundial.
You can use this/these voucher to buy a sundial for your own garden or to pass on to a fiend or relative a gift.
We are currently limiting the number of vouchers per individual submitted to 5 - but that is worth £100.
Email your photo to: rwhite@courtyardsundials.co.uk
Please include:
- The location of the sundial
- Any detail you can find about it's history and the designer
- If it is to commemorate a special event - details of that event
- Your name and address so we can send the voucher
It would be courtesy to ask the owner of the sundial permission.