Observatory Time & National Time -- Flamsteed House, Royal Observatory, Greenwich, London, UK
N 51° 28.679 W 000° 00.122
30U E 708176 N 5707243
Two interpretive plaques explain how the correct time was shared with the nation in the 18th through 20th centuries
Waymark Code: WMT472
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 09/22/2016
Views: 1
The problem of how to share accurate time with the public and merchants in an pre-telegraphs and telephones-era led to ingenious visual and aural methods, including one that is a prominent feature on the Royal Observatory today: the Time Ball.
The signs are located in the Flamsteed House Time Gallery, and read as follows:
"SHARE IT
OBSERVATORY TIME
As the need and desire for 'the right time' increased, owners and makers of clocks and watches turned to the observatories to provide accurate timekeeping.
London watchmakers took their best timekeepers to the Royal Observatory to set them right. But traveling to Greenwich was not practical for everyone.
The world's leading observatories found ingenious ways of sharing daily time signals with their local communities, through cannon fire, dipping flags, telegraph arms and dropping time balls."
"SHARE IT
NATIONAL TIME
Through the electrical telegraph networks, the time from Shepherd Master Clock at Greenwich was shared with the public through the simultaneous twitching, flicking and chiming of hundreds of times signals across the country.
The Royal Observatory set up a time ball in 1833 to give visual time signal. It still drops every day at 1 PM.
By 1855, 96% of public clocks were set to Greenwich Mean Time, although GMT did not become the nation's legal standard until 1880."
Type of Historic Marker: Interpretive sign
Historical Marker Issuing Authority: Royal Museums Greenwich
Age/Event Date: 01/01/1833
Related Website: [Web Link]
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