The Centenary Sundial at the Savoy Hotel
The dial marks the centenary of the founding of the Savoy Hotel by Richard D'Oyly Carte in August 1889.
It is a 1989 commission of Christopher StJ H Daniel who delineated it and of Brookbrae Ltd who manufactured it. The dial is 610 mm in diameter and takes the form of a four ring type armillary sphere. The dial is itself some 29 years old now and apart from a little weathering of the infill black, it remains in excellent condition. The Mottoes read "For excellence we strive" on the Eastern vertical ring and "Life is lovely all the Year" and "Savoy Centenary 1989". It possesses a rod gnomon with a ball nodus and the equatorial ring is somewhat thinner to the South. It is marked 5am to 7pm in half hours, has black infilled numerals on stainless steel. It is recorded in the UK National Register of Sundials as SRN 2156. The shadow of the nodus travels over the time scale during each equinox.
Have a look at the various images here and admire the detail, the elegance and the design. Also read what must be one of the longest inscriptions ever made on a UK sundial - it is positioned on the base. It reads:
To honour RICHARD D’OYLY CARTE Proprietor of the Savoy Theatre Founder and Chairman of the Savoy Hotel 1889-1901 and HELEN D’OYLY CARTE RUPERT D’OYLY CARTE Chairman 1901-1948 DAME BRIDGET D’OYLY CARTE DBE Vice Chairman 1948-1985 Chairman of the D’Oyly Carte Opera Trust and their distinguished colleagues SIR GEORGE REEVES-SMITH Vice Chairman and Managing Director 1900-1941 SIR HUGH WONTNER GBE CVO DLITT JP Chairman 1948-1984 and Managing Director 1941-1979 6 August 1989 Anthony Tuke Chairman Giles Shepard Managing Director |
The Savoy Sundial todayViews of the sundial which was placed outside the Savoy Hotel to mark its centenary in 1989 Images © VL Thomson 2018, used with permission. All rights reserved. Photo album created with Web Album Generator
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All images here are courtesy of VL Thomson.