Sundial of the month April

Vertical direct west dial, Oosthuizen

On the wall of the Reformed church in Oosthuizen there is a wooden west dial, consisting of two beautifully framed oak panels.
Its supposed maker is Jacob Oostwout (1714-1784).
All lines, characters, symbols and scrolls on the panel are in basso relieve, all carved out of the two oak planks.
On the advice of De Zonnewijzerkring, the strongly weathered sundial was restored in 1981.
The whole sundial was painted a dreary grey, but is now coloured.

The sundial shows the following lines:
- hour lines,
- date arcs according to the signs of the Zodiac,
- azimutlijnen en hoogtelijnen.

The date arcs are painted in red, the hour lines in gold, and the rest, including the wooden panel frame, in green.
A nicely cut-out copper style plate with index casts a beautiful shadow pattern on the sundial. The best time to observe it is around two hours after true noon.
To the top is the motto “Fugit hora”. The name of the supposed maker is to the bottom right.