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Description: | A sundial set permanently to summer time, comprising a grey granite pillar, rough hewn all over, with rectangular panels with smooth surfaces carved into it. The sundial is on the south face, incised in a smooth panel set in the top half of the pillar, with a small inscription. On the north side, are two panels bearing inscriptions. The pillar is set straight into the earth beside a path in the wood, and tapers slightly towards the top. It is roughly rectangular in section and the granite has a pinkish hue. The face of the sundial is incised with a sunburst and has Roman numerals incised round it, with the inscription beneath. The gnomon is triangular, in bronze with a black coating and is also incised with sunrays. Additional Information: William Willett was responsible for the introduction of daylight saving, campaigning over several years at the beginning of the twentieth century almost single-handedly. He did not live to see his success as he died in 1915, a year before the measure was first introduced during the First World War. Willett was a house builder of quality housing in wealthy areas of London, and came to live in Chislehurst in 1894 after he bought the Camden Park estate with a view to developing it. From his house he used to take early morning rides through nearby Pett's Wood. He became conscious of the many hours of daylight wasted in the morning when he saw house blinds still drawn on sunny summer days, and formed the idea that more could be made of daylight by adjusting the clock. He himself was a lover of sunshine and light, a fact that was reflected in his buildings, and believed in its benefits for all. He put his ideas in a pamphlet, Waste of Daylight', and campaigned ceaselessly to win over influential people in government, industry, the trade unions and agriculture. It was a slow process and his ideas suffered much opposition and scorn, but he also attracted support from many prominent people such as Winston Churchill, then President the Board of Trade and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. When the measure did eventually come in it was as an emergency measure to save fuel in the munitions factories. The clocks were put forward by one hour ???? The Summer Time Act in 1925 finally made daylight saving a permanent feature. Willett's daughter, Mrs Gertrude Magrane, wrote of him, Above all he loved sunlight, open spaces and fresh air'.(1) | Subjects: | Monolith | Source: | Vads | Creator: | Designer: Miller, G.W. Not Known: Farmer and Brindley | Identifier: | http://www.vads.ac.uk/large.php?uid=6989... | Go to resource |
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