Nelson Monument, Edinburgh

The Royal Navy's White Ensign and signal flags spelling out Nelson's famous message "England expects that every man will do his duty" are flown from the monument on Trafalgar Day each year.

[2] The monument was constructed at the highest point of Calton Hill, at 171 metres (561 ft) above sea-level,[3] replacing an earlier mast used to send signals to shipping in the Forth.

[5] A plaque above the entrance to the monument carries the following dedication: To the memory of Vice-Admiral Horatio Lord Viscount Nelson, and of the great victory of Trafalgar, too dearly purchased with his blood, the grateful citizens of Edinburgh have erected this monument: not to express their unavailing sorrow for his death; nor yet to celebrate this matchless glories of his life; but, by his noble example, to teach their sons to emulate what they admire, and, like him, when duty requires it, to die for their country.

AD MDCCCV[6]Above the plaque is a stone carving of the San Josef, a ship captured by Nelson at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797.

[7] The time ball was the idea of Charles Piazzi Smyth, the Astronomer Royal for Scotland, and was originally triggered by a clock in the adjacent City Observatory, to which it was connected by an underground wire.

[4] The installation was carried out by James Ritchie & Son who are still retained by City of Edinburgh Council to maintain and operate the time ball.