Timepiece Sculpture

The Timepiece Sculpture is a Grade II listed sundial sculpture created in 1973 by Wendy Taylor, funded by the J Lyons Group. This modern steel sundial resembles a giant washer, with hours indicated by raised dots. It is suspended from three chains and features a gnomon, or pointer, designed to look like a large dockyard nail, all originating from a single point. A descriptive plaque is located at the front.

This is a basic equinoctial sundial, which means it is aligned with the equator and shows the time only when the sun is north of it. Taylor has simplified the concept of the sundial to its most fundamental form.

Wendy Taylor was working in a studio at St Katharine's Docks in 1971 when the Peter Stuyvesant Foundation began a program of art for six British cities. Although London was not chosen, Taylor decided to create her own work for St Katharine's Docks, which was then undergoing conservation and redevelopment for offices and leisure. The sculpture's location outside the Tower Hotel has made it one of the most prominent sculptures in London, and its theme reflects the nearby Greenwich meridian, significant for timekeeping. This piece is important in Taylor's development of large-scale public sculptures, particularly her use of chains and industrial materials. It is also one of the earliest and most clever public sculptures from the 1970s, leading to a series of new sundials in public spaces.