A thank-you for your sundial heritage volunteers: a photo of the old dial on the church wall, the shadow falling across its numbers or a volunteer's hand on the gnomon as a jigsaw

Written by the team behind Puzzlify. Puzzlify is our product, so weigh what follows with that in mind. We've tried to make this useful even if you never use it. We're not affiliated with any sundial society, sundial register, local history society, civic society, church, cathedral, museum, heritage trust, estate, landowner, garden, local council, parish council, heritage body, heritage funder, sponsor, school, faith or community organisation. Nothing here is legal, historical, listed building, conservation, astronomical, first aid, health and safety, safeguarding, bereavement, copyright, trade mark, photography permission or employment advice; check your own group's guidance on gifts, photos, the building, the dial, ladders, children and people's details.

It's a clear October morning, and the sun has just come round the corner of the old church tower, so the south wall glows a warm gold. High up, above the porch, there's a square of weathered stone with faint lines carved into it like the spokes of a wheel, and a slim iron rod sticking out of the middle. A thin shadow falls from the rod across the stone. A retired maths teacher called Hilary is standing on the path with a clipboard and a small group of visitors. "Watch the shadow," she says. "It's touching the line for ten. Now look at your phones." Somebody checks. It's nearly ten past eleven. "Summer time," Hilary says, smiling. "The sun doesn't change its clocks. And even in winter, the dial and your watch only agree on four days a year." Over by the gate a volunteer called Kwame is crouched with a Year 6 class around a little scratch dial cut into a buttress, no bigger than a dinner plate, just a hole and a few lines. "This one is probably six or seven hundred years old," he says. "It told the priest when to ring the bell for Mass." A boy looks up at the cloudy patch drifting towards the sun. "What did they do when it rained?" Kwame laughs. "Guessed. Same as us."

If you want to say thank you to people like Hilary and Kwame, this is a guide to doing it well, with or without a puzzle.

Who we mean

Sundials turn up in surprising places: on church walls and porches, on market crosses and old schools, in the gardens of country houses, on village greens and town squares, on pub fronts and on the buttresses of medieval churches as small scratch dials. They are looked after by many kinds of volunteers: the recording volunteers who find, photograph and measure dials and add them to local or national registers, the conservation volunteers who help keep the dial and the wall around it clear of ivy and moss, under the guidance of a conservator or the building's owner, the history volunteers who research mottoes, makers and dates in parish and estate records, the guides who point dials out on walks and explain how to read them, the churchwardens and building volunteers who keep an eye on the wall the dial lives on, the education volunteers who help children make their own paper sundials, the event volunteers who run heritage open days and garden visits, the archive volunteers who scan old photographs and drawings, the oral history volunteers who record what older people remember, and the trustees and founders who agree the work with the owner, find the money and keep everything going.

Some belong to a sundial society, a local history group or a civic society. Some are churchwardens or members of a friends group. Some simply noticed a strange set of lines on a wall one day and couldn't stop looking for more. What they share is that they look after small, patient instruments that have quietly counted the hours for centuries.

Words first

Before anything else: the most valuable thank-you is a few sentences that are specific. Not "thanks for all you do" but "my daughter now checks every church wall we walk past for a scratch dial, and she's found three." Name the person, name the moment, and say what changed. A short card or email with those sentences is a complete gift on its own.

Ladders, walls and roads come first

Many dials sit high on walls, above doorways, or beside busy roads. Please don't climb on walls, monuments or gravestones to get a closer look or a better photo, and never touch or try to adjust the gnomon. Cleaning and repairs on a listed building or a historic dial are for people with the right skills and permissions. Churchyards are also places of grief, so keep voices low and stay on the paths.

Shadows, mottoes and the time of day

A sundial tells local solar time: the time by the sun, in that exact place. That's why it rarely matches your watch. Clocks run to an average time for a whole time zone, the earth's orbit makes solar noon drift earlier and later through the year, and summer time moves everything by an hour. Many dials carry a motto, often in Latin, about time passing: that the hours wound, or that we are a shadow, or that the dial counts only the sunny hours. Volunteers who know the dials can usually tell you which one is which, and why.

An honest word about the past

Sundials were made for many reasons: for church services, for farm work, for keeping trains and post on time before clocks were reliable, and sometimes simply to show off. Some were put up by wealthy landowners, some by ordinary parishioners. Researchers often find both kinds of stories, and some are unknown. A thank-you doesn't need to tidy that up; it's fine to thank someone for showing you what we know and what we don't.

When to send it

There's no wrong time, but good moments include the equinoxes or solstices, the end of a recording project, a heritage open day, the restoration of a dial, the end of a school project, or simply a sunny walk when someone stopped to explain the shadow.

Why a jigsaw can fit

A sundial is a lovely puzzle subject: fine carved lines, weathered stone, a bright patch of sunlight and a single dark shadow. Putting it back together piece by piece rewards patience, which is exactly what reading a sundial asks of you. And because it's a private link, it can go to one person or to the whole group.

For the recording volunteers

Recording volunteers find dials, photograph them, measure them, note which way the wall faces and add them to a register so they aren't lost. A close-up photo of a dial they recorded, with the shadow on it, suits them perfectly. A note that says "you found the scratch dial on our church that nobody knew was there" will mean a great deal.

For the conservation volunteers

Conservation volunteers help keep ivy, moss and lichen from swallowing a dial, always under guidance, and report damage when they see it. A "before and after" pair works beautifully: the dial half hidden by ivy beside the same view now clear. Name the dial they helped save.

For the history volunteers

History volunteers dig through parish records, estate papers and old guidebooks to find out who made a dial, when, and what its motto means. A photo of the motto close up, or of an old drawing of the dial used with permission, makes a thoughtful puzzle. Mention the story or translation they gave you.

For the guides

Guides turn a set of lines most people walk past into a small marvel. A photo of a walk gathered on the path, looking up at the dial, taken with permission, suits them. Quote the line from their talk that stayed with you.

For the churchwardens and building volunteers

Churchwardens and building volunteers look after the wall, the porch and the gutters the dial depends on, and often unlock the gate for the recorders. A photo of the whole south wall in sunshine, with the dial small in the middle, is a warm puzzle for them.

For the education volunteers

Education volunteers help children make paper sundials, stand a stick in the playground and watch the shadow move. A child's paper sundial or drawing, photographed with the family's permission, makes an excellent small puzzle. In the note, the child's own words are best: "My shadow clock was only five minutes wrong. Thank you."

For the event volunteers

Heritage open days, garden visits and equinox walks don't happen by accident. Event volunteers set up tables, print leaflets, bring compasses and hope for sunshine. A photo of the open day with people gathered around a garden dial makes a cheerful puzzle. Mention the event your family went to and what you remember.

For the archive volunteers

Archive volunteers scan old postcards, drawings and photographs that show dials now worn, moved or lost. An old postcard showing a dial, used with permission, makes a lovely puzzle. A note that names the photo they found and what it showed is a thoughtful thank-you.

For the oral history volunteers

Some of the best stories about a sundial come from people who remember it being repainted, or a grandparent who set their watch by it. Oral history volunteers record these memories before they're lost. A photo of the dial from the path they described suits them.

For the trustees and the founders

Somebody once had to find out who owned the wall, get the right permissions, write the grant bid and organise the insurance for a restoration. Trustees and founders carry the worries most volunteers never see. A "then and now" pair works well, and so does a photo of a newly restored dial on its first sunny day. Mention how long they've been at it.

When a long-serving volunteer steps down

When someone who has recorded or cared for dials for twenty years decides to stop, a puzzle of their favourite dial can be a gentle gift. Choose a photo with a crisp shadow, use a larger piece count for a long, slow solve, and let the note say what the group will miss. Ask the coordinator what they'd like; some people prefer a quiet card to a fuss.

In memory of a volunteer

If a volunteer has died, a puzzle made from a photo of a dial they loved can be a way for family or fellow volunteers to remember them. Go gently. Ask the family first, keep the note simple, and let them decide whether they want it at all. A donation, a line in the newsletter or a quiet walk to see the dial together may be what they'd prefer.

Not just in one country

Sundials are found all over the world, from Roman and medieval dials to the great stone instruments of India, the painted dials of Alpine villages and Mediterranean towns, and modern dials in parks and schools. Some are on religious buildings and deserve the same respect as the building. Whatever the place, the same principle holds: thank the people who look after it, specifically and kindly, and follow the local rules.

Photo ideas and consent

• the dial on the church wall with a clear, sharp shadow
• a small scratch dial on a buttress, close up
• the motto carved or painted on the dial
• a garden dial on its pedestal, with flowers around it
• the dial half hidden by ivy beside the same view restored
• an old postcard or drawing of the dial, used with permission
• a volunteer's hand near the gnomon, with permission and without touching it
• a child's paper sundial from a school visit

Ask the people in the photo before you use it, and ask the church, owner or archive before using old photographs or drawings. Keep other visitors, gravestone names, children, number plates and anyone's details out of the frame unless you have clear permission.

Getting the JPG right

Use a JPG, sharp and well lit. A sundial needs sun, so choose a bright day and a time when the shadow lands clearly across the lines. Side light brings out carved numbers and mottoes; flat grey light can make them disappear. Zoom a little rather than walking into flower beds, keep the dial straight rather than at a steep angle, and include a little of the wall or garden around it so the puzzle has some variety. Phone cameras are fine; just wipe the lens first.

Privacy and an optional PIN

Puzzlify puzzles are private links. You can add an optional PIN so only the person you send it to can open it. Photos aren't used to train AI and aren't shared with third parties.

Say it's from you

Put your name, or your family's, in the note at the end so they know who sent it. A puzzle that ends with "from Year 6, who still think they should have guessed in the rain" is a thank-you, not a mystery.

Piece counts

How to send it

Make the puzzle, write the note, publish the link, and send it by email or message, or print the link as a QR code inside a card. The recipient doesn't need an account or an app; it plays in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer.

Note examples

• "Thank you for teaching us to read the time from a shadow."
• "She's found three scratch dials since your walk. Thank you."
• "You cleared the ivy and now the old dial tells the time again. From all of us, thank you."
• "We'll never look at a church wall the same way again."

Honest pricing

The preview is free, so you can see how it looks before deciding anything. Publishing the link costs one credit (€3.99), or less per puzzle with a bundle. It's a digital puzzle, not a printed one, so nothing arrives in the post. If a card and a few sentences feel like enough, they are.

Ideas that are not a puzzle

• a handwritten card, perhaps with a little sketch of the dial
• a short message to the group or the church naming the volunteer, so it reaches them
• a donation to the dial or building repair fund in their name
• an offer of your own time: helping at an open day or baking for a recording trip
• an old family photograph of the dial, offered to the archive if they'd like it

If a photo puzzle feels right as well, choose the dial, the shadow, the motto or an old postcard, take it from a safe spot with permission, keep visitors, children and anyone's details out of the frame, pick a piece count that suits them, and write the note in your own words. You can make a free preview here and decide later whether to send it.

Whatever you send, the most important part is the sentence that sounds like you, written to the person who clears the moss from the old carved lines, who waits for the clouds to pass, and who helps a child watch a thin shadow creep across a stone and understand that people have told the time this way for centuries, one hour at a time, one jigsaw piece at a time.

Written by the small team behind Puzzlify (info@puzzlify.app). Not legal, historical, listed building, conservation, astronomical, first aid, health and safety, safeguarding, bereavement, copyright, trade mark, photography permission or employment advice. Check your own group's guidance on gifts, photos, the building, the dial, ladders, children and people's details.