HITCHIN IS A delightful place to visit in Hertfordshire. It has a pleasant town centre with plenty of picturesque old buildings. Near the town square, stands the church of St Mary, which was constructed during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Its tower has two sundials.

The two sundials are next to each other but face in different directions: one southeast, and the other southwest. The southeast dial carries the date 1660 and the words “Anno Salutis”. It celebrates the year that the monarchy was restored after Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth ended and Charles II became King of England.

I wondered why the church has two sundials next to each other. From what I could glean from the Internet, it seems that one dial catches the morning light better than the other, and the second one works best in the afternoon light. A website (https://sundialsoc.org.uk/wp_bridol/pages/S4/S4036.html)  explained that the dial bearing the date 1660:

“Shows time 5am to noon in 30 & 15 min marks. Noon marked with cross.”

The other sundial, that facing southwest, comes into its own after noon. There might be other examples of paired sundials, but this is the first I have spotted.