Field Visit
Date 16 October 2002
Event ID 613232
Category Recording
Type Field Visit
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/613232
Facet-headed sundial standing on a high, wide-spreading base, consisting of three moulded steps. The support of the dial is hexagonal. At top and bottom the facet-head has five sides and in the centre ten sides. The dials are hollowed out with figures of various shapes. In one the gnomon is formed by the nose of a grotesque face. The under surfaces have no dials, but are decorated with the royal arms and the initials of Charles I and his queen Henrietta Maria, for whom Charles had the dial made.
The sundial was made by John Mylne, the king's master mason, in 1633, assisted by Mylne's sons, John and Alexander, ' "for which he was paid the sum of £408, 15s. 6d. Scots." The dial and pedestal measure 6 feet 7 inches high, and the total height, including the base, is 10 feet, and the width at the ground is 10 feet 3 inches. It is stated that this dial was lying broken and uncared for, and that it was put in order by command of the queen.' (Castellated and Domestic Architecture, Vol. V) (1)
Inspected By : T.S.
Inscriptions : On the under surfaces of the sundial: C R and M R [ the initials of Charles I and his queen Henrietta Maria]
Signatures : None
Design period : 1633 (original) / 1908 (repairs and new gnomons)
Information from Public Monuments and Sculpture Association (PMSA Work Ref : EDIN0723)
