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Washington
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Sundial: 204
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| State/Province: District of Columbia |
Country: USA |
| Dial Type: Horizontal Dial |
Condition: Fair |
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Latitude and Longitude: |
38° 54.700' N 77° 3.800' W |
| Location: |
- Tudor Place
Flower Knot Garden
1644 31st St NW, near R St.
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| Description: |
- Horizontal dial about 16 inch square made of bronze. Gnomon is 4.125 inch high, 5 inch long. Below gnomon is motto, "Horas non numero nisi serenas" (I only count serene hours). The house was built in 1805 and is now open to the public as a museum. Years before this property was opened to the public, a family member brought this dial from Crossbasket Castle in Scotland, the family sea, to Georgetown. The gnomon angle is 39°N 30',.probably made for the Washington DC location. However, the dial plate has a latitude of about 48° N, certainly not Scotland. What is the true origin of this dial? Perhaps Augsburg, Germany?
To further complicate things, the existing dial face contains a poem by John Greenleaf Whittier (b. 1807 d.1892) around the perimeter, setting the date of the dial in the middle of the 1800's. Whittier was a Northern abolitionist, politician, writer, and poet. How the dial face ended up engraved at 48° N with his poem is truly a mystery.
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General Information: | Inscription: | | - Surrounding the dial's perimeter:
[S] 'With warning hand I mark time's rapid flight
[E] from life's glad morning to its solemn night
[N] Yet through the dear God's love I also show
[W] There's light above me by the shade below.
and on the South side of the dial:
"Horas non numero nisi serenas"
[I count only the serene hours]
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- Construction Date: circa 1850
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| References: |
- Geo. McDowell, Twelve Sundials of Washington, nr. 8
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Last Revised: 2026-04-14 15:29:00
