A weekend of glorious sunshine heralds the end of Winter and the beginning of Spring. How many hours of sunshine have we seen today? Ten hours? Twelve hours? Alex Moulton was always measuring things - for without measurement, we have no data, and without data, we have no analysis. On the eastern end of the terrace at The Hall is an unusual device that initially confounds interpretation. It consists of a small canister with two holes in it, and a removeable lid.

Further inspection reveals that this is a ‘Sunshine Recorder’. A photographic paper would be placed inside each day, and the calibrated holes would expose the paper to show the hours when sunlight was present. Here at The Hall these results were carefully tabulated along with other critical measurements - including temperature, rainfall etc. - to form a weather chart. Some of these measurements were for general interest, whereas others were more important. Dr. Moulton’s weather charts were inscribed with such comments as ‘River Level Limit for Kayak’ and the even more critical note “Remove Steam Boat from under Boat House’.

The Sunshine Recorder installed at The Hall is of the Jordan type, made by Casella of London. Invented by James B Jordan in 1885, he presented his findings in the Quarterly Journal of The Meteorological Society of 1888 where he related that:

“In the Autumn of 1885 I had, in conjunction with Mr Gaster, the honour of bringing before the Royal Meteorological Society a description of my Photographic Sunshine Recorder. Since that date the instrument has been in the hands of many observers both in this country and abroad, and its indications have been accepted as truthful records of the duration of sunshine. The efficiency of the instrument was further provided by a trial at Kew Observatory in April last, when it was compared with the Stokes recorder, and after a month’s observations the two instruments were found to give practically identical results, the difference between the records being less than one percent.”

The Gardens at The Hall will be enjoying the sunshine and all the new plants our Garden Volunteers have planted will soon be blooming. Even our stone lions are enjoying the sunshine. Long may it last.