Guess the medieval instrument

What time is it? It’s later than you think. Tempus fugit. Or, as the sundial inscription so accurately but perhaps more optimistically explains: “I only count the sunny hours.” You know full well that

How the world’s clocks and geographic coordinates came to be set by a small borough of London

A few years ago, we bought my father a sundial. It was a decent 18th-century style reproduction in lead – something he had wanted for a very long time – and then, inevitably, he asked me to help him s

One summer’s evening in the days before internet weather forecasting, I was deeply involved in the after-race ‘do’ following a Solent Old Gaffers event. In the 1970s these regattas drew entrants large

This month marks the 350th anniversary of the Royal Observatory Greenwich, a cornerstone of modern astronomical science. Founded in 1675, this grand institution is known as the home of Greenwich Mean

Graceful and practical in equal measure, the parasol has a long and colourful history when it comes to creating shade. Deborah Nicholls-Lee takes cover