The Greenwich Meridian

Currently viewing images from 16 Aug 2016

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Artist Kate Williams, who worked with children from Manor Primary School to design the numbers for the sundial. Members of the Church of Christ in Newham helped with the motto. To read the time, someone needs to stand at the appropriately marked point at the centre of the dial. The time is read off from where their shadow falls. This type of sundial is known as an analemic – or human sundial. It was produced with the financial support of The London Development Agency, Access to Excellence, the London Borough of Newham and the assistance of Thames Water and inaugurated in a ceremony that was scheduled to start at 11.30 on Thursday 20 May 2004.

Greenway runs on top of the North London interconnecting sewer, which at this point is carried on a brick viaduct not dissimilar to those on the rail-network. In the June 2009 image set, work had just started on upgrading it in readiness for the 2012 Olympics, when it was planned to use it as the main pedestrian access route from West Ham Station to the Olympic Park. Although the graffiti on the adjacent walls and concrete was removed early on, that on the two accompanying plaques was not. By the time the September 2012 images were taken on Super Saturday during the Paralympics, the plaques too, had finally had a clean up.