Sundials

1872 Sundial

Trinity student standing on the 1872 sundial, ca. 1900. Photo credit: Trinity College Archives

On Class Day in July 1872, George Washington West presented Trinity College with a sundial on behalf of his Class, which “as there was no Sun Dial to present,” was considered an “absent donation.” The physical sundial was finally installed in the fall of 1872 and placed at the South entrance of the old campus. The inscription read: “Collegio S.S. Trinitatis Donavit Classis MDCCCLXXII Pereunt et Imputantur” and it is described as having “the points of the compass” on it.

The sundial can often be seen in photos that feature the old campus' front lawn. In one photo, the sundial is present without its top – doubtless one of several occasions that it was damaged. In November 1872, the Trinity Tablet reported that an unknown vandal “so injured it as to render it useless until returned to the maker for repairs.”

The Class of 1888 sundial. Photo credit: Trinity College Archives

The sundial was relocated when the College moved to the new campus in 1878 and was placed “before Seabury Hall and midway of the campus.” According to the February 1957 Trinity Bulletin, the sundial stood until it became “'quaint and gray' and at long last expired of old age at an unknown date.” It stood at least until 1890, as the May Tablet that year features an article that “the old sun-dial has been restored!”

Class of 1888 Sundial

Late 18th century polyhedral sundial in Funston Memorial Garden. Photo credit: Fred Sawyer, 2022.

In April 1919, the Class of 1888 (arranged by Louis W. Downes of Providence, R.I.) presented the College with a new sundial which is located outside Williams Memorial on the path heading toward the Chapel. According to the 1957 Bulletin, “Trinity's old friend is not calibrated to correct for the variations which obtain throughout the year, and so “it still must be cherished more for ornamental and sentimental considerations than for its practical value.”

The new sundial attracted a great deal of attention. In the May 27, 1919 Trinity Tripod, the student staff wrote that “people interested in sundials have come many miles to see it.” The May 27, 1919 Tripod states that the students were “planning to start a fund very soon, with which we will build another and larger sundial at the corner of the athletic field to complete the triangle.” Assuming the triangle already had two points, these would be the 1872 and 1888 sundials.

Today, the Class of 1888 sundial still stands at its original location.

Trinity also hosts a pillar 18th-century polyhedral sundial located at the Funston Memorial Garden outside the Chapel. Installed in 1965, the inscription on it states that it originated from the Abbey at Storrington, Sussex, England.

The whereabouts of the 1872 sundial are unknown.