page_title: Bachelors' Club, Tarbolton
section_title: Nocturnal
hierarchical_section_title: Bachelors' Club, Tarbolton / History / Nocturnal
caption_attribution_description: A nocturnal as costume jewellery. This is a functioning nocturnal, though only about 5 cm tall. It shows the month ring on the outside in brass. The inner disk shows the time and has an indicator on one edge. By setting the indicator to the month and day (in this case a few days into October), centring Polaris in the hole in the middle and rotating the pointer attached to the centre to a specified circumpolar star, the arm indicates the time (in this case, 7 pm)
context_page_description: The Bachelors' Club is a National Trust for Scotland museum located at 1 Sandgate Street, Tarbolton, KA5 5RB. The upstairs room was the largest in Tarbolton and was used for a number of social events. It was probably the first rural debating society in Scotland and the prototype for many Burns Clubs the world over. This 17th-century building is thatched and has period furnishings.
context_section_description: A rare item of great interest held by the Bachelors' Club is a wooden instrument known as a 'Nocturnal', which means 'night time'. This artifact is related to a Moondial and allows you to tell the time at night using a combination of the Pole star and one other star. You set the instrument to the right time of year, then look for the Pole Star through the hole in the middle. Adjust the index arm to align with one of the 'pointer stars', which seem to point to the Pole Star. Where the arm meets the hour scale, you read off the time. The provenance of this nocturnal is not recorded.
caption: A brass and silver nocturnal
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