One of the earliest sundials, designed by Berossos about 300 BC was the hemispherium , shaped like the lower half of a hollow sphere. This modern dial is a projection of the hemisphere onto a flatter dish shape, whose cross-section is a segment of a circle. The tip of the gnomon is the focus of the projection.
A vertical sundial , as the name implies, has its dial mounted vertically, usually on the wall of a building. in distinction to a horizontal dial which has its dial plate placed horizontally, either on the ground or on a pedestal.
  Geographical location Dial Type
Scaphe		 Latitude/Longitude
54°11'N 2°59'W
Holker Park
 Photo By
P.E.Walker 		British Grid Reference
SD 355 774
The Holker Sundial
The county of Cumbria is well-known for its slate quarries and this is an unusual example, carved in solid slate, of a concave dial with a central vertical gnomon. The dial was installed in 1991 in the grounds of Holker Hall, Cumbria. Commissioned by the Hall's owner, Lady Cavendish, designed by Mark Lennox-Boyd M.P. and manufactured by Burlington Slate Ltd., it is believed to be the largest slate sundial in the world.
It measures 1.55m. in diameter and 380 mm. in depth, weighing almost 1 tonne. Its design, manufacture and installation are described in the British Sundial Society's Bulletin Volume No. 92.3.
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