The Millennium Dial Armillary is one of six pieces of

public art Public art is art in any Media (arts), media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and phy ...

located in the

town centre A town centre is the commerce, commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town. Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train ...

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

, England. The others include the Sutton heritage mosaic, the

Sutton twin towns mural The Sutton Twin towns mural is a large mural in the form of seven individual paintings situated in Sutton High Street in the town of Sutton in Greater London, England. It is one of six works of public art in Sutton town centre. Design and loca ...

and the Messenger statue. The

armillary An armillary sphere (variations are known as spherical astrolabe, armilla, or armil) is a model of objects in the sky (on the celestial sphere), consisting of a spherical framework of rings, centered on Earth or the Sun, that represent lines of ...

was dedicated to the town in 2000 by the

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, profe ...

, and is in the form of a historical timepiece. It serves three purposes: firstly, simply to tell the time; secondly, to commemorate time through various inscriptions including the Rotary motto "Service Above Self" and distances to nearby areas such as Kingston upon Thames; and thirdly, to commemorate the work which the Rotary Club has done.

Inscription

The inscription on the plinth reads as follows:

History

The brief history of the Sutton armillary is that, in the years leading up to the new millennium, the

London Borough of Sutton The London Borough of Sutton () is a London borough in south-west London, England and forms part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the 80th largest local authority in England by population. It borders the London Borough of Croydon to ...

expressed its wish for time-related millennium projects. The Rotary Club responded to this by conceiving, planning and jointly funding the armillary. It was designed to last for years to come, and was originally positioned as the central feature of a Millennium Garden. It was slightly re-positioned in 2011, following a repaving of the pedestrianised High Street area, since when it has stood on the edge of the new central square in the town, directly in front of the

Waterstones Waterstones, formerly Waterstone's, is a British book retailer that operates 311 shops, mainly in the United Kingdom and also other nearby countries. As of February 2014, it employs around 3,500 staff in the UK and Europe. An average-sized Wa ...

bookshop. When deciding on the new position, the Rotary Club and the local council had to take account of the need for an adequate supply of sunlight. The armillary also had to be removed temporarily in November 2012, when it came off its plinth – this received coverage in the local press in a column headed "Time stops in Sutton High Street after Armillary removed".

Benefits to town

The armillary's installation has provided a focus for the

, and it will remain as a permanent memorial, marking both the new millennium and the important role the Rotary has played in the welfare of Sutton since 1923.Sutton Council Modern Gov
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References

{{Portal bar, London, Visual arts Tourist attractions in the London Borough of Sutton Buildings and structures completed in 2000 Sundials Astronomical instruments Sutton, London