Scotland

A first sight of the sundial at Lews Castle

A first sight of the Lews Castle sundial

A first sight of the Lews Castle sundial at Stornoway, Isle of Lewis. This was a restoration we completed in 2020.

The sundial at Lews Castle, which overlooks Stornoway harbour on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland, is a restoration of a piece of nineteenth century garden furniture. The cast iron pedestal was once the base of a water fountain that stood in the castle grounds. In 2019 work started on a major Castle Grounds Regeneration Project, which included the pedestal. This ornate piece would be restored as a sundial. The Stornoway Trust had a special wish to see a timeline history of the Lews estate written on the dial. Continue reading

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A lighthouse sundial replica for display

A lighthouse sundial replica for display

This is the finished artwork for creating the sundial plate. The graduated lines and gnomonic information will be transferred onto a prepared blank plate using the technical process of photoetching.

For centuries, the lighthouses round the rocky coasts of Britain have been a lifeline to ships at sea. The lighthouse keeper used a sundial to find the time. It was part of lighthouse equipment before telegraph, radio and automation eventually took over. We have been asked to make a replica of one of these sundials.

The replica is for a travelling display of Scottish lighthouse memorabilia, which the owner will use when he gives one of his regular talks on lighthouses to interested groups of people. He has built up a significant collection of items but a sundial is an essential missing piece he has been unable to obtain so far. Continue reading

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New Sundial for Lews Castle at Stornoway, Isle of Lewis

New sundial for the cast iron pedestal found at Lews Castle, Stornoway

The new sundial explains the history of Lews Castle. It will be installed in the sunken garden as part of a regeneration project.

Lews Castle at Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis in the Western Isles is in the far north of Scotland. It once belonged to the wealthy overseas trader Sir James Matheson, who built the castle as a mansion home on the site of the ancient Seaforth Lodge in the 1840s. He planted woodlands to surround his property and laid out pleasure gardens with species imported from all over the world. An extensive programme of work to regenerate the castle grounds began in 2019. When an original cast iron pedestal was discovered at the castle it was decided it should be restored. It now has a new sundial, which is just finished, and Continue reading

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Supreme Scottish Sundial at Glamis Castle

Sundial at Glamis Castle with 80 dials on the polyhedron

The polyhedron is an upper part of the sundial with 80 dials, and an earl’s coronet on top. Four lion sculptures at a lower level carry dials in their claws.

In the extraordinary world of Scottish historic sundials, the supreme sundial monument stands at Glamis Castle. It is the tallest and grandest sundial and is in the grounds of one of the most beautiful castles in Scotland. In August 2020 a TV crew were filming there for a future series. They asked Alastair Hunter to Continue reading

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Restoration of the obelisk sundial at Drummond Castle gardens

THE DRUMMOND CASTLE OBELISK SUNDIAL

The sundial consists of 61 multiple dials on raised panels and in sunken hollows. The date of the sundial is 1630. It has been made as an exhibition piece to show all of the sundial mathematics of its era.

The sundial obelisk at Drummond Castle in Perthshire has a long and distinguished history. It has its place in the architecture of the ancient castles and houses in Scotland. It is connected with the very earliest days of the British Sundial Society (BSS). And it is one of the most important free-standing sundials in the British Isles from the early 1600s still surviving.

In 2017 after almost four hundred years outdoors the sundial was showing serious signs of the stone deteriorating. The whole structure was feared to be unsound. Making it safe had become urgent. Continue reading

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