Conference Edition The Recorder April 2003 An Occasional Newsletter for BSS Recorders —Yarnfield Edition Tempus Fugit? Is Tempus Fugit really the sible sundial type is repre- most common sundial motto? sented in the remaining 68. Over the last few centuries As soon as any study is at- that motto has become en- tempted the first thing that is grained into the memory of noticed is the enormous varia- Topics most people whether or not tion in the actual text of similar • A look at mottoes on dials they have any active interest in mottoes. So, for example mot- sundials. But is it actually as • Using the Register to answer toes using the words Sunny common as we might sup- questions about dials Hours (or Houres etc) either on The declining dial on Woodstock Town pose? their own or in various forms, Hall is one of the Tempus Fugit group of • How best to use digital cameras dials. The BSS database has for total 58. Included in this num- for dial recording some time now allowed us to ber are ‘I only count the sunny Diem; 12 or even 15 when • New BSS policies on gifted dial record mottoes that are known houres’, and the fuller version: instances of Sieze the Day are collections on the UK’s Fixed dials and ‘Let others tell of storms and added. Tempux (Edax Rerum) with not too much difficulty it is showers I only count your • Better recording techniques occurs 9 times and even We possible to study the fre- sunny houres’. The Sic Vita shall (die all) has 6. Tempus quency of the more common group (including variants like • Difficult photographs! as a word occurs in no less ones. Ut Hora Sic Vita) has 32 en- than 79 mottoes but when tries. Horas non numero nisi At the last count there were English versions are allowed, serenas; 26. Sic Transit Gloria some 885 dials having re- the Tempus Fugit group comes Mundi; 21. As a Shadow (such corded mottoes. Of these in at 84 to snatch the record is Life); 14, Pereunt et Impu- some 512 are on Vertical dials as expected. Inside this issue: tantur has 13, Amyddst ye (268 of which are on Direct Flowers variants number 11, South dials) and 305 on hori- Tempus Fugit? Is it as common 1 Watch and Pray; 19 with Carpe as we might think? zontal dials. Almost every pos- Are our Churches really aligned 1 East-West? The Digital Revolution 2 New Policy on Dial Collections 2 The Next Register 2 Are our Christian Churches really aligned East-West? Recording the Horizontal Dial 3 It is almost an article of ‘faith’ rough and ready idea. any account of inaccurate de- Be a Dial Detective 3 that Christian Churches are lineation or recording but, on Of the 1088 churches with The Worst Photograph? 4 aligned East-West. But how the face of it, more than half of vertical dials, 624 or 57% have often was this achieved to any the country’s churches have non-canted direct South Dials real accuracy? In view of their walls that are oriented toward and 464 or 43% have canted age one might think not often. the cardinal points of the com- Direct South or declining dials. The presence of a sundial can pass to an accuracy that per- Five of these even have canted give a clue and it is interesting mits a Direct South dial simply declining dials! to go through the Society’s to be fixed to a South wall. database to try and get a very Of course none of this takes How did they do it? Page 2 The Recorder The Digital Revolution “I’ve just bought a digital cam- rarely adequate even if the vice for producing permanent era and I won’t use an ordi- whole image is taken up by the prints at ~30p each from e- nary one ever again”. That is dial. Also digital cameras of- mailed images. When register- a common reaction these days ten have an inadequate optical ing a dial sighting these prints but is a digital camera really as zoom that prevents one from should be sent in with a com- good as it sounds and does it getting close enough to fill the pleted dial report form . BSS really provide an adequate image with the dial. Forget cannot yet accept e-mailed Ideally use a camera image for archive purposes? digital zoom — it simply re- forms and photos because we of 3.3M pixels resolu- The answer is Yes, it can do — duces the resolution of the do not have the facilities or provided that the camera is end image and doesn’t make time to process all the results. tion or above, use the good enough and the resolu- for a good picture. With a digi- We are working on ideas for a highest resolution every tion and image permanence of tal camera use the highest digital archive which can ac- time and use optical the prints is adequate. So, available resolution settings, cept such records but this zoom to fill the frame what camera is good enough get in as close as you can us- needs a mechanism for data and what makes an image ing optical zoom and then get retrieval as well as for storage with the dial. Please sufficiently permanent? Most the image printed profession- and it must be compliant with don’t submit prints digital cameras have a low ally — rather than on a home the approaches adopted by prepared on a home resolution (640 x 480 pixels) PC or Mac. Both Boots and other heritage organisations. computer and printer! setting and if this is used it is Jessops offer an Internet ser- Watch this space! New Policy on Dial Collections Over the past few years the chive requires one of our stan- Ta’Bois’ collection went to Society has occasionally been dard forms to be prepared for David Young for safe keeping presented with collections of each dial and for the photo- and, owing to the large backlog dial records that have been graphs to be archived by on Register entry the WI and built up by Members and oth- County. For these collections the Rodber Collections have ers. One of the earliest was such forms generally have to not yet been entered. It was that of Noel Ta’ Bois which be written by the Registrar and appropriate therefore for a Just two of the 23 volumes from the Regis- came to the Society after the the wording is thus more about view to be taken of our proce- ter of Fixed Dial records. subsequent death of his wife what can be seen from the dures and the Council recently Margaret. More recently we photograph and no longer re- approved a change whereby have received the results of flects the views of the original such collections will be kept the WI’s Millennium Dial Hunt recorder. On top of that the intact in the archives and with in Northamptonshire and now photographic collection is then a new referencing approach the Noel Rodber Collection. effectively split up within the being adopted to satisfy data- The current format of the ar- archive. Fortunately Noel base integrity. The Next Register— What wouldyou like to see? The next Register is Despite the backlog of entries will present problems not just approximately Latitude 52 with still waiting to be entered we in ease of use but also in all Counties in Wales and Ire- likely to be twice the are on target for the issue of terms of cost and we shall be land included in a so called size of the 2000 another edition of the Register looking at ways in which these Northern book. A cheaper sometime in 2004. This will problems might be eased. ‘pocket’ version could be Edition! Let us be substantially larger than the One idea might be to publish in printed without images and have your feedback 2000 edition because of the two separately available vol- without detailed descriptions continuing discovery of more umes by dividing the country or of course we could publish on what form(s) this and more dials by our ever into North and South. The with better quality images and new Register should vigilant team of Recorders. snag with this approach is that even word searching on Indeed, viewed from a year in order for the two books to CDROM. What would you like? take. away it certainly looks as if it be of similar size, the dividing Let the Registrar know your could be twice the size! This line would have to be drawn at Conference Edition Page 3 Recording the Horizontal Dial more valuable to those who the 1752 calendar change? Some recorders only use the • There may be one or two have an interest in researching (Check the date when April's Furniture box on our recording forms of half hour marker - this sort of connexion. EoT is zero) form when there are extra what are they and do they lines of delineation like those point in or out? Things to record include: for the solstices and equi- • How many points has the Com- noxes. Many dials have no • What form do the numerals pass and is there a Coat of such furniture and so often • Is the sub-style of the dial or marks for Noon and Arms, motto, maker's name, this space is left blank. (usually the Noon line) split 4am/4pm take? date etc? to accommodate the width However, scrolls, sunbursts of the gnomon? • What subdivisions of time • What city names are recorded and other decoration both on are marked and where are and at what hours (or even at and around the dial itself and • Are the main hour numer- they on the dial? what minutes) are they the positioning, and shape of als to be read from inside marked? the time scale, the nature of or outside the Chapter • Is a Watch Faster/Slower the half hour and quarter hour ring? type of EoT scale provided • What other decoration is there markers and other aspects of and with what accuracy is it on the dial? the layout all contribute to a • Do the main hour lines recorded? dial's furniture and should be pass through the numerals recorded so that the Register of the Chapter ring or not? • Is the EoT scale pre or post may in the future become even The Woodstock Dial—solving a conundrum? On the first page the dial on original position.