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Haddington

East Lothian Museum HQ, Haddington, East Lothian - NT 512739 - Gatty 160 - Ross 466

A unique dial and as such has the interest of rarity.

It is octagonal in form with a hollow on each facet. Between each facet is a smiling hairy face above the level of the hollows and an acanthus (?) leaf below. The East and West hollows have faces as gnomons.

Those small dials are primarily decoration for the distinguishing feature of this dial - the great 'font' hollow in its centre. Naturally this is a dial. There is no evidence of a gnomon remaining for this dial but there has been a roughly done repair in concrete at the point where an iron gnomon could have rusted, expanded and shattered the stone.

Visited 25 May 1981 - A. R. Somerville

Visited 20 Jan 2006 - Author

This dial was a long shot when I went to try and see it in 2003. It was going to be the bonus of a day out to see the magnificent dial at Lennoxlove. I could not definitely trace the 'font with hollow dials' that Somerville noted but turned up at the now defunct East Lothian Antiquarian Society's former headquarters in Haddington House. It was where Somerville had visited it but the puzzled look of the office worker who answered the door told it all. The Antiquarian Society and the dial were long gone.

However, the visit to Lennoxlove went well and on my return to Haddington I went to see St Mary's Church. The extremely well staffed, volunteer tour guides there took me in, fed me, watered me and found the dial. They had phoned their friends one by one until they found one who had belonged to the society. The entire collection had been given to the local museum service. It was the end of the day when I arrived at the museum store and they suggested I came back another day after they had found it.

It was over three years until I made it back! I moved from Edinburgh to Glasgow and then from Glasgow to London so it was a long way back to see it.

Ross points out that this dial is 11 1/4 inches high by 15 inches wide, the basin is 6 1/2 inches deep and each cup hollow is 4 1/2 wide. I shall point out that it is very heavy to man handle into an appropriate position to photograph.

This dial is a traveller. It is now on a shelf of miscellaneous stones in East Lothian Museum Headquarters. In 1981 it was at the East Lothian Antiquarian Society's HQ at Haddington House. In the 1890's it belonged to Dr Martine and had already lost its pedestal. Before that it was known to have been at a house called Bellevue in Haddington but was thought not to have originated even there.

My thanks go to Andrew James (education officer) who showed me the dial and who tolerated this strange man who had travelled a ridiculously long way. More thanks go to the good volunteer folk of St Mary's Church who found the dial for me.

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	East Lothian Museum HQ, Haddington, East Lothian - NT 512739 - Gatty 160 - Ross 466 A unique dial and as such has the interest of rarity. It is octagonal in form with a hollow on each facet. Between each facet is a smiling hairy face above the level of the hollows and an acanthus (?) leaf below. The East and West hollows have faces as gnomons. Those small dials are primarily decoration for the distinguishing feature of this dial - the great 'font' hollow in its centre. Naturally this is a dial. There is no evidence of a gnomon remaining for this dial but there has been a roughly done repair in concrete at the point where an iron gnomon could have rusted, expanded and shattered the stone. Visited 25 May 1981 - A. R. Somerville Visited 20 Jan 2006 - Author


	This dial was a long shot when I went to try and see it in 2003. It was going to be the bonus of a day out to see the magnificent dial at Lennoxlove. I could not definitely trace the 'font with hollow dials' that Somerville noted but turned up at the now defunct East Lothian Antiquarian Society's former headquarters in Haddington House. It was where Somerville had visited it but the puzzled look of the office worker who answered the door told it all. The Antiquarian Society and the dial were long gone. However, the visit to Lennoxlove went well and on my return to Haddington I went to see St Mary's Church. The extremely well staffed, volunteer tour guides there took me in, fed me, watered me and found the dial. They had phoned their friends one by one until they found one who had belonged to the society. The entire collection had been given to the local museum service. It was the end of the day when I arrived at the museum store and they suggested I came back another day after they had found it. It was over three years until I made it back! I moved from Edinburgh to Glasgow and then from Glasgow to London so it was a long way back to see it.
	Ross points out that this dial is 11 1/4 inches high by 15 inches wide, the basin is 6 1/2 inches deep and each cup hollow is 4 1/2 wide. I shall point out that it is very heavy to man handle into an appropriate position to photograph. This dial is a traveller. It is now on a shelf of miscellaneous stones in East Lothian Museum Headquarters. In 1981 it was at the East Lothian Antiquarian Society's HQ at Haddington House. In the 1890's it belonged to Dr Martine and had already lost its pedestal. Before that it was known to have been at a house called Bellevue in Haddington but was thought not to have originated even there. My thanks go to Andrew James (education officer) who showed me the dial and who tolerated this strange man who had travelled a ridiculously long way. More thanks go to the good volunteer folk of St Mary's Church who found the dial for me.