Skip to content

1907: Mather Sundial

View from northeast

View from northeast

Princeton University. Property of the Trustees of Princeton University.

Source: Robert J. Clark

The Mather Sun Dial, in the court of McCosh Hall, is a replica of the historic Turnbull Sun Dial constructed in 1551 at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. It was given by Sir William Mather, governor of Victoria University, Manchester, England, to "symbolize the connection between Oxford and Princeton [and] . . . Great Britain and America," and was unveiled on his behalf by Viscount James Bryce, then British ambassador to the United States, in 1907. The monumental shaft, rising from a broad base to a height of more than twenty feet, is topped by a pelican, religious symbol of Corpus Christi. Inscribed around the base are these words from Samuel Butler's Hudibras:

"Loyalty is e'er the same Whether it win or lose the game True as the dial to the sun Although it be not shined upon."

Source: Source: Leitch p. 319 ff

More information on Mather Sun Dial


View from northwest, with McCosh Hall in background, circa 1922

View from northwest, with McCosh Hall in background, circa 1922

Princeton University. Property of the Trustees of Princeton University.

Source: Princeton University Archives, Mudd Library, Grounds & Buildings, SP 5