British Sundial Society, Mass Dial Group Archive

Records of the British Sundial Society, Mass Dial Group, 1985-2015, comprising report files and accompanying photographs from Berkshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cornwall, Cumbria, Devon, Dorset, Durham, East Yorkshire, Essex, Gloucestershire, Greater London, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Isle of Wight, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, Oxfordshire, Rutland, Shropshire, Somerset, South Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Surrey, Sussex, Warwickshire, West Midlands, West Yorkshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire, Wales and Scotland; county registers for Bedfordshire, Devon, Cornwall, Cumbria, Greater London, Isle of Wight, Kent, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, Oxfordshire, Rutland, Surrey, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Wales and Scotland; 'Mass Dials on Yorkshire Churches' BSS Monograph No. 3 by Alan Cook, 2008, with addenda; Dorset papers of Gordon Le Pard.

The British Sundial Society was formed in 1989 with the aim of advancing ‘the education of the public in the science and art of gnomonics.’ It became a registered educational charity in 1992 and a Charitable Incorporated Organisation in 2014. It is affiliated to the Royal Astronomical Society.
The Society attracts members from all over the world to its quarterly meetings and annual Spring conference and issues a quarterly bulletin of scientific papers, reports and book and journal reviews. The Society also offers advice on the restoration of sundials and runs a quinquennial awards scheme for the best restorations.
The Society maintains a register of scientific Fixed Dials, of horizontal, vertical, equatorial, polar, multiple and analemmatic types, as well as a register of ‘Mass’ or scratch dials, more simple medieval dials most often found on the south walls of churches. The latter are recorded by the Mass Dial Group in an ongoing database, organised by county. By 2010 the group had collected evidence of 2000 Mass Dials throughout the British Isles.
As of 2017 the British Sundial Society remains active, with more than 400 members.

Records are open to the public, subject to the overriding provisions of relevant legislation, including data protection laws. 24 hours' notice is required to access photographic material.

The archive was deposited at the Borthwick Institute in 2009. Further additions were made to the archive in 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2015.

The British Sundial Society was formed in 1989 with the aim of advancing ‘the education of the public in the science and art of gnomonics.’ It became a registered educational charity in 1992 and a Charitable Incorporated Organisation in 2014. It is affiliated to the Royal Astronomical Society.
The Society attracts members from all over the world to its quarterly meetings and annual Spring conference and issues a quarterly bulletin of scientific papers, reports and book and journal reviews. The Society also offers advice on the restoration of sundials and runs a quinquennial awards scheme for the best restorations.
The Society maintains a register of scientific Fixed Dials, of horizontal, vertical, equatorial, polar, multiple and analemmatic types, as well as a register of ‘Mass’ or scratch dials, more simple medieval dials most often found on the south walls of churches. The latter are recorded by the Mass Dial Group in an ongoing database, organised by county. By 2010 the group had collected evidence of 2000 Mass Dials throughout the British Isles.
As of 2017 the British Sundial Society remains active, with more than 400 members.

The archive has not yet been catalogued. Selected copies of Mass Dial county registers are available in the searchroom of the Borthwick Institute.

Created by S. A. Shearn, 11.04.17.

A reprographics service is available to researchers subject to the access restrictions outlined above. Copying will not be undertaken if there is any risk of damage to the document. Copies are supplied in accordance with the Borthwick Institute for Archives' terms and conditions for the supply of copies, and under provisions of any relevant copyright legislation. Permission to reproduce images of documents in the custody of the Borthwick Institute must be sought.

Further accruals are expected.

Published

GB193