The time ball has returned to Calton Hill.

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.

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.''

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.

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.

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.''

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.''

Ancient time ball to drop again at top Edinburgh monument

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