Holyhead: Stories of a Port

The following article is by Mr. David Puleston Williams, an eminent local historian who has spent considerable time and effort researching aspects of the Parish Church of St. Cybi that are not readily known.

Many will have passed by St. Cybi’s Church and noticed the Sundial on the south wall, possibly checking their modern day watches or smart phones to see how accurate the sundial might be. On closer inspection they may also have noticed the Welsh inscription and wondered what the meaning was.

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A sundial has been on the south wall of St Cybi’s church for many years. It appears likely that it has been replaced or renewed a number of times due to weathering. The account of the church for 1738 has the following entries (the original spelling has been retained):

Paid for a Diall board . . . . . . £0 – 6s – 2d

Two further disbursements are listed in the following year:

Plateing the Dial Board . . . . £0 – 1s – 4d
For the Dial . . . . . . . . . . . . £1 – 1s – 0d

It is impossible to say if this was the first time a dial was fixed to the wall or whether this dial, purchased in 1738/39, replaced a previous one. The dial is shown, in the same position as it is today, on Lewis Morris’s drawings of the church drawn c.1740, and in the well-known engraving of the Church by the brothers Samuel and Nathaniel Buck, in 1742. The dial appears to have been well looked after as the church accounts for 1785, 1791 and 1799 record the payment of oil and paint for the dial.

R.T. Williams in his book ‘Nodion o Gaergybi’, states that the sundial was a gift from Robert Roberts the publisher and compiler of almanacs. But Lucy Williams, in her article, ‘The Portionary Church of Caergybi and Jesus College’, states that it was Robert Roberts who made a new sundial during the incumbency of Rev Ellis Annwyl Owen, who was rector from 1815 to 1827. Robert Roberts died in 1836, at the age of 58 and was buried only a few yards away from the sundial, next to the path leading to the double arches. The Church account for 1906 record that the sum of £2-5s-0d was spent on repairing the dial.

The description of the dial in ‘An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Anglesey’ (1937) is as follows:

Sundial: on S. wall of S. transept, with inscriptions on dial and gnomon; dated 1813.

The gnomon is the arm of the sundial which casts the shadow. In 1926 the sundial was taken down as the fastenings holding the dial to the wall had become unsafe. At the same time the wooden frame was strengthened and the dial was renovated. It was noted at the time that there were inscriptions on the gnomon, with on one side:

This dial was given by Captain Skinner of the Union Packet to the Parish of Holyhead, 1814.

and on the other side:

The roof etc of the Church was repaired in 1813 and 1814. W. Lloyd, minister; H. Evans and R. Roberts, Wardens.

Thus, it would appear that a new sundial had been installed in 1814 and placed in the same position as before. Captain Skinner lived in Stanley House adjoining the church yard.

‘The Book of Sun-dials’ (1890), by Margaret Gatty, gives information about the inscriptions or mottos to be found on sundials in the British Isles, Italy, France, Germany and other countries. In all she refers to 867 dials, but on page 538, she sets out the inscription on the dial on St Cybi’s Church and states:

This, our last motto, is one of the most remarkable in the collection. It is a unique specimen being the only Welsh inscription.

The words ‘yr hoedl er hyd ei haros, a dderfydd, yn nydd ac yn nos’, placed at the top of the sundial, are a couplet taken from a poem concerning the months of year. This was the final verse dealing with the month of December in a late medieval poem known as ‘Englynion y Misoedd‘, being a collection of twelve verses describing the nature of each month. The full verse is as follows:

Mis Rhagfyr, byrddydd, hirnos,
brain yn egin, brwyn yn rhos:
tawel gwenyn ac eos;
trin yn niwedd kyfeddnos;
adail dedwydd yn ddiddos,
adwyth diriaid heb achos
yr hoydl er hyd i haros,
a dderfydd, yn nydd a nos.

As can be seen there is a slight variation between the inscription on the sundial and the version set out in the complete stanza above. The poet speaks of December’s short days and long nights. The ravens are among the young shoots, with rushes on heathland. Even the bees and nightingales are silent. A disturbance after a night of celebration, with ill-fated destruction, but the homes of the fortunate are safe. The span of life is a sojourn first with light, but then ends with darkness. A more literal translation of the couplet being:

Life, however prolonged it may,
Will end as does the night and day.

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We are grateful to Mr. David Puleston Williams for his research and permission to publish this article. He wishes to express his thanks to the staff at Archifau Ynys Mon/Anglesey Archives, Llangefni for the considerable assistance provided when researching this article.

Editor’s footnote – Enquiries have indicated that the last time the Sundial was refurbished/replaced was sometime in the early 1990’s. The photos show that it is in need of attention.

© David Puleston Williams and Holyhead Maritime Museum April 2024.