Deal, Time Ball Tower. The tower once stood in the Naval Yard, by the main entrance gate. It was originally the site of a shutter telegraph, built in 1795, to warn the Admiralty in London of Napoleon’s expected invasion. Using a system of big wooden shutters, the telegraph passed a message along a relay of fifteen telegraph stations – a message was supposed to reach London in 2 minutes. In 1816, after the end of the Napoleonic War, the existing building was built as a semaphore tower, using two large rotating arms mounted on a mast to send signals. This is what the Deal settlers would have known. In 1842 the semaphore system was abandoned, and the tower later became a time ball station. Ships needed accurate time for their sextant readings to give accurate navigation. The Royal Observatory had erected the first time ball to give time to ships in the Thames, and it was decided to extend the idea around the country. Deal, with the Downs as an important anchorage, was one of the first new sites.

Photo by Sue Mackay.