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Nelson Monument

Calton Hill
Edinburgh
Lothian
EH7 5AA

The death of Admiral Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 was felt by many people in Britain to be more than just a public calamity, for he had been regarded almost as a personal friend by many who had never made his acquaintance. In Edinburgh it was decided that a monument should be built which would be both ornamental and useful, this to be accomplished by replacement of the existing "telegraph", a simple mast landmark, on the summit of the Calton Hill by a stone signal-tower tall enough to be seen by the shipping in Leith Roads.

The structure, most obviously comparable in form to a spy-glass, but also less reverently to a butter-churn, has its base 456 ft above sea-level and stands 106 ft high. Climb the 143 steps to see the tremendous panoramic view of Edinburgh.

In 1852 a time signal was installed at the top of the monument to enable captains of ships to set their chronometers accurately. A large time-ball drops at 12 noon GMT (1.00pm in Summer) on week-days. During the summer the lowering of the time-ball coincides with the firing of the one o'clock gun at Edinburgh Castle.

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Nelson Monument Postcode for SatNav: EH7 5AA

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