Latest news with #KarlChapman
.jpeg%3Fwidth%3D1200%26auto%3Dwebp%26quality%3D75%26trim%3D0%2C0%2C0%2C0%26crop%3D&w=3840&q=100)
Scotsman
5 days ago
- General
- Scotsman
Time ball to drop again from top Edinburgh monument
The time ball has returned to Calton Hill. Sign up to our History and Heritage newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A 19th century time ball that helped seafarers set their clocks for decades is due to drop from the top of one of Edinburgh's great monuments once more. The 90kg time ball was fitted to the Nelson Monument on Calton Hill in 1852 and dropped every day at 1pm to assist sailors in the Firth of Forth with timekeeping and navigation. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Made from wood and zinc, the time ball was taken down last year for restoration. From next month, it will keep time once again after Edinburgh City Council spent £500,000 on repairs to the timepiece and the part of the monument which supports it. Karl Chapman, City of Edinburgh Council's head of heritage, culture, museums and galleries, said: ''Now we have GPS and phones but back in the day this was modern technology. ''People are still fascinated by this today which is why it's important we maintain the time ball and the Nelson Monument - it's a fascinating piece of history and mechanism.'' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Nelson Monument stands at the highest point of Calton Hill, built in honour of Admiral Lord Nelson, who died at the Battle of Trafalgar during the Napoleonic Wars in 1805. The battle was a victory for the Royal Navy, but Nelson was fatally wounded. When the news reached Edinburgh, a group of subscribers banded together to raise funds for a monument as a tribute to Nelson. The design, by Robert Burn, was modelled on an upturned telescope. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The monument's prominent position made it useful for sending messages across the city, but in 1852 it took on new importance when a time ball was installed at the top of the tower. Professor Charles Piazzi Smith, the Astronomer Royal in Scotland, proposed the time ball to assist with ship's navigation. The ball would drop at exactly one o'clock as a signal to ships moored in the Firth of Forth, enabling captains to check the accuracy of their chronometers and correctly calculate their longitude at sea – a tradition that continues even though technological progress means it is no longer vital to safe seafaring. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad After its installation, Piazzi Smyth continued to work out the time and triggered the ball drop himself. He even devised an automatic system to drop the ball, and nine years later in 1861 the 1 o'clock gun fire from Edinburgh Castle was added on foggy days. The latest restoration work on the timeball was carried out by the Cumbria Clock Company. The entire mechanism of the time ball has now been automated, with the timber mast replaced and lightening protection renewed. Some stonework has also been replaced and repaired. Margaret Graham, City of Edinburgh Council's culture and communities convener, said: ''Half a million pounds sounds like a lot of money but in the scheme of things, in our heritage buildings, it's not a lot. "It's a lot of specialist work that needs to be done.''
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Iconic 19th century time ball back on Edinburgh's Calton Hill
A large wood and metal ball used by ships' crews as a visual aid to set their clocks by has been reinstalled at the top of Edinburgh's Nelson Monument following restoration work. The device, which is called a time ball and is more than 170 years old, is traditionally dropped down a pole to signal that the time is 13:00. The firing of the one o'clock gun at Edinburgh Castle was later added to mark the time on foggy days when it was harder see the Calton Hill monument from Leith docks. The 19th Century time ball, restored at a cost of £500,000, is to be dropped again daily from next month. Karl Chapman, City of Edinburgh Council's head of heritage, culture, museums and galleries, said the time ball was once cutting edge technology. He said it allowed sailors to set their clocks to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), an international standard for time from 1884 to 1972, and used as an aid to ships' navigation systems. Mr Chapman said: ''Now we have GPS and phones but back in the day this was modern technology." ''People are still fascinated by this today which is why it's important we maintain the time ball and the Nelson Monument - it's a fascinating piece of history and mechanism.'' The wood and metal time ball was taken down for repair last year. Restorers in the north of England found the zinc coating had failed and the wood beneath was rotten in places. The ball was lifted and lowered manually, the last public timepiece in the UK to be wound by hand. The process is now to be automated. Mark Crangle, a restorer from the Cumbrian Clock Company, said it was great to be involved in such a prominent project. He said: ''It's not very often you get to work on a time ball. "It's quite unique and it has its own history so it's quite nice, because it's not worked for quite a few years now. "It's right in the centre of Edinburgh and everybody looks up and sees it so it's nice to bring that back alive again.'' Margaret Graham, City of Edinburgh Council's culture and communities convener, said: ''Half a million pounds sounds like a lot of money but in the scheme of things, in our heritage buildings, it's not a lot. "It's a lot of specialist work that needs to be done.'' She added: ''The Calton Hill itself gets a million visitors every year and it's important that we keep our heritage buildings in good repair, and also residents are very proud of their heritage so it's important from that perspective as well.'' Nelson monument to reopen for first time since Covid
BBC News
6 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Iconic 19th century time ball back on Edinburgh's Calton Hill
A large wood and metal ball used by ships' crews as a visual aid to set their clocks by has been reinstalled at the top of Edinburgh's Nelson Monument following restoration device, which is called a time ball and is more than 170 years old, is traditionally dropped down a pole to signal that the time is 13: firing of the one o'clock gun at Edinburgh Castle was later added to mark the time on foggy days when it was harder see the Calton Hill monument from Leith 19th Century time ball, restored at a cost of £500,000, is to be dropped again daily from next month. Karl Chapman, City of Edinburgh Council's head of heritage, culture, museums and galleries, said the time ball was once cutting edge said it allowed sailors to set their clocks to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), an international standard for time from 1884 to 1972, and used as an aid to ships' navigation Chapman said: ''Now we have GPS and phones but back in the day this was modern technology."''People are still fascinated by this today which is why it's important we maintain the time ball and the Nelson Monument - it's a fascinating piece of history and mechanism.'' The wood and metal time ball was taken down for repair last in the north of England found the zinc coating had failed and the wood beneath was rotten in ball was lifted and lowered manually, the last public timepiece in the UK to be wound by process is now to be automated. Mark Crangle, a restorer from the Cumbrian Clock Company, said it was great to be involved in such a prominent said: ''It's not very often you get to work on a time ball."It's quite unique and it has its own history so it's quite nice, because it's not worked for quite a few years now."It's right in the centre of Edinburgh and everybody looks up and sees it so it's nice to bring that back alive again.'' Margaret Graham, City of Edinburgh Council's culture and communities convener, said: ''Half a million pounds sounds like a lot of money but in the scheme of things, in our heritage buildings, it's not a lot."It's a lot of specialist work that needs to be done.''She added: ''The Calton Hill itself gets a million visitors every year and it's important that we keep our heritage buildings in good repair, and also residents are very proud of their heritage so it's important from that perspective as well.''
