Nelson's Monument, 1807; 1814-16, Robert Burn
The Monument's dropping ball on top pole signalled time to ships in the Firth of Forth.
Calton Hill Monument: photo © adrian welch
Nelson's Monument replaced an existing mast on Calton Hill's summit with a signal-tower high enough to be visible to ships on the Forth and commemorates Admiral Lord Nelson's death at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
Calton Hill Monument: photo © adrian welch
The stone structure is 106 ft high with 143 steps from a base 456 ft above sea level. The really smart aspect of this tower is the time signal installed at its top in 1852 to enable ships' captains to set their chronometers accurately. A large time-ball drops on weekdays, at 12pm in Winter and 1pm in Summer coinciding with the firing of Edinburgh Castle's One o'Clock Gun.
Calton Hill Monument: photo © adrian welch
Nelson's Monument Admission £2 (last checked Dec 2003)
Apr to Sep: Mon 1pm - 6pm; Tue to Sat 10am - 6pm
Oct to Mar: Mon to Sat 10am - 3pm
+44 (0)131 556 2716
National Monument
Scotland's National Monument (to the Napoleonic Dead), Calton Hill, Edinburgh, by Cockerell & Playfair -1829
Edinburgh's (actually Scotland's) National Monument, just to the north of Nelson's Monument, was designed as a folly (though this has been questioned), based on Acropolis, Athens - not the result of lack of funds.
Scottish Architecture: best Scottish Buildings of the last three decades
Scottish Architects of the past
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