Category archives: Uncategorized

Jan Bondeson has written an article for “The Scotsman” featuring Thomas Simpson who lived with his daughter Elizabeth in the Potterrow before his death in 1894. Coconut Tam was buried in the Grange Cemetery https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/old-edinburgh-worthies-3-hunchback-coconut-tam-3092017

The story of the setting up of the One o’ clock Gun can be seen at Edinburgh Castle. The One o’ Clock Gun Exhibition stands next to the time gun on the Mills Mount Battery.

During a trip to Paris, James Hewat who was a member of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce spotted a time gun firing in the Palais-Royal Gardens. He proposed that a time gun be set up in Edinburgh which would be connected to the time ball on the Calton Hill.

Although the time ball proved to be a success it was sometimes difficult to see due to the volume of smoke from the tenements and factories surrounding the Calton Hill.

Turning the capstan wheel, the assistant astronomer raised time ball into position halfway between the crosspiece and the foot of the mast at 12.55 to signal that the ball was about to be dropped. Turning the capstan wheel he raised the ball to the crosspiece at 12.58.

The assistant astronomer climbed the steps to the turret room at the top of the Nelson Monument where the lifting machinery was housed to send the time signal.

The time was sent to the time ball from the master clock which stood in the observation room of the observatory via an underground wire which ran up the side of the Nelson Monument to the turret room.

The transit telescope in the observatory was used to calculate the time on a daily basis.

2021 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Henry Maudslay. The engineer’s company set up the time ball on the turret of the Nelson Monument in 1853.

Jan Bondeson has written an article on Daddy Flockhart the street preacher who died the year before the little dog was said to have appeared in Greyfriars kirkyard. https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/old-edinburgh-worthies-no-1-soldier-turned-street-preacher-daddy-flockhart-3091994