Sundial Approximately 15 Metres South of Tower of Priory Church of St Mary is a Grade II listed building in the Lancaster local planning authority area, England. First listed on 13 March 1995. Sundial.
Sundial Approximately 15 Metres South of Tower of Priory Church of St Mary
- WRENN ID
- heavy-cellar-cobweb
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Lancaster
- Constituency
- Lancaster and Wyre MP: Cat Smith (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 13 March 1995
- Type
- Sundial
- OS grid reference
- SD 473 619
- Coordinates
- 54.05056, -2.80598
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The sundial, located approximately 15 metres south of the tower of the Priory Church of St Mary, dates from the late 18th century and was restored in 1894. It is made of sandstone ashlar and designed in a Gothick style. The sundial has a square plan with a stepped base, featuring steps with nosings that vary in number on each side; only the east side has a complete flight of six steps reaching the ground. Each face of the shaft has a panel set between a pair of ogee mouldings, displaying an elongated quatrefoil above the plinth. This is topped by a square base for the dial, which is concave in profile and adorned with eight quatrefoils—one on each of the cardinal faces and four around the corners. The bronze gnomon and dial, which were inscribed with Roman numerals and the phrase 'SIC UMBRA VERTIT, SIC VITA FUGIT', were removed and stored after being vandalised.
Local climate
Sundial Approximately 15 Metres South of Tower of Priory Church of St Mary sits in one of the wettest parts of the UK, with an average of 1,400 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 97% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 98% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 28 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 69% of listed buildings. Of these, 12 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- No related consent applications matched
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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Similar buildings
The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.
- 1 Sundial and Shaft South of Nave in St Mary the Virgin Churchyard
- 2 Sundial Approximately 12 Metres to North West of Tower of Church of Saint Mary the Virgin
- 3 Sundial East of Church of St Mary and All Saints
- 4 Sundial to South of Porch to St Mary's Church
- 5 Sundial Approximately 6 Metres to South of South Aisle of Church of All Saints
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Nearby listed buildings
- Priory and Parish Church of St Mary
- Church Steps
- Posts (Two) at North East End, to South of Church Steps
- Lancaster Castle
- Former Vicarage
- Greycourt
- Posts (Five) at South West End, Near Junction with Castle Park
- 100, Church Street
- 98, Church Street
- Piers and Low Wall Around Castle Precinct to South of Castle