Sundial, North Garden, Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh is a Grade A listed building in the City of Edinburgh local planning authority area, Scotland. First listed on 14 December 1970. Sundial.

Sundial, North Garden, Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh

WRENN ID
north-sentry-jet
Grade
A
Local Planning Authority
City of Edinburgh
Constituency
Edinburgh East and Musselburgh MP: Chris Murray (Lab)
Country
Scotland
Date first listed
14 December 1970
Type
Sundial
OS grid reference
NT 268 740
Coordinates
55.95347, -3.17313
Source
Historic Environment Scotland listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The sundial located in the North Garden of Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh was designed by John Mylne in 1633. It is a multi-facetted polyhedron stone sundial that sits on a carved and moulded hexagonal pedestal. This pedestal is centrally placed on a wide, tiered, three-stepped, moulded, and panelled hexagonal base. The sundial features ten triangular side faces, each adorned with carved figures and geometric shapes, including hemispheres and hearts, some of which have metal gnomons. One side displays a carved grotesque head. The underside of the sundial is decorated with carved heraldic devices that include the initials MR and CR. The pedestal is further embellished with carved acanthus leaf decoration.

Local climate

Sundial, North Garden, Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh sits in a wetter-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 970 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 76% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 53% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 43 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 81% of listed buildings. Of these, 25 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.

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