Summary

Sundial dated 1617, re-set on a new plinth in 1911 and moved to its current position at Priory Gardens (still within Kirklees Park) in 1989.

Description

Sundial, 1617, re-set on a new plinth 1911, moved to current position 1989.

Sundial: thin, square stone slab set horizontally with a bronze (probably later replacement) gnomon and inscribed hour lines and chapter dial. The southern quadrant is inscribed 1617, the date split to flank the Armytage coat of arms, below which are the initials IA and W. The north east corner is inscribed:
CORRIGE PRETERITUM
REGE PRESENS
CERNE FUTURU
[learn from the past, regulate the present, discern the future]
The north west corner is inscribed:
UT HORA }
SIC VITA }
FUGIT'
[As the hours fly, so flies the day]

Plinth: square plinth with simple chamfered base and cap, set on an octagonal, flag stone step. The south face is inscribed:
SEMPER
PARATUS
SED SINE
SOLE
SILEO
[I am always ready, but do not speak without the sun.]

The north face carrys the Armytage coat of arms in relief and is inscribed:
RE-ERECTED
1911
GJA MGA

The west face is inscribed
ME HIC
POSVIT
MMA
1989
[MMA moved me here 1989]

History

The sundial is inscribed with the date 1617 and the Armytage coat of arms with the initials IA and W. The initials IA are thought to stand for John Armytage (either son or grandson of the John Armytage who bought the estate in 1565), the W probably being his wife's initial. Although it is not known where the sundial was originally positioned, it was probably near to Kirklees Hall as John Armytage (died 1624) is thought to have used Kirklees Hall as his residence, having built the Jacobean north front in 1610. The sundial was moved and set on a new base just within the ha ha to the south of Kirklees Hall in 1911 by Sir George John Armytage (6th Baronet). It was moved to its present position in 1989 by the widow of the 8th Baronet (whose initials were MMA).

Reasons for Listing

The sundial within the garden at Priory Gardens, Kirklees Park, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Date: as a good, well preserved example of an early C17 sundial;
* Historical interest: for the various inscriptions including the two versions of the Armytage coat of arms (1617 and 1911) and the two C20 inscriptions documenting the relocations of the sundial, which also contribute to the special interest of the structure.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26426843

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

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  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
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  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
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  Northumberland (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)