Deal time ball

A time ball is an old fashioned way of determining the time. As the hour draws near the ball rises to the top if it's mast and then drops on the hour. I have watched a small crowd gather to see this happen on Deal waterfront, it is a bit of an anti-climax really as it just drops down and rises only very slowly, ready to drop again at the next hour. Used by navigators to allow them to accurately set their chronometers the Deal time ball was established in 1855, built on the top of an old semaphore tower.