James Petch
Opening Times for 2022
Easter: Friday 15th, Saturday 16th, Sunday 17th and Monday 18th April; 11:30am to 4:30pm
Spring: Saturdays and Sundays only from 30th April to 29th May inclusive; 11:30am to 4:30pm
Public Holidays: Mondays 2nd and 30th May; 29th August 11:30am to 4:30pm
Summer season: From Wednesday 1st June to Sunday 2nd October, Wednesday to Sunday inclusive; 11:30am to 4:30pm.
During this summer period, the Tower will be closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
TIMEBALL TOWER - New Years Eve 2021
1. The scaffolding around the Timeball Tower is being removed. The Tower is looking really smart after its repaint.
2. The ball will be floodlit from 2300 on New Year’s Eve. There will be a commentated countdown and Timeball drop at midnight. At 2355 the Timeball will rise halfway up the mast. At 2357 it will go to the top of the mast. It will drop at precisely midnight. The timing of the Timeball drop is controlled by the atomic clock at Anthorn Radio Station in Cumbria.
3. Shortly after the midnight drop, it is hoped there will be a firework display from the beach near Deal Pier.
4. Do come and watch the drop and the fireworks but please do maintain social distancing.
Timeball Tower Restoration - 5th December 2021
Mast repair and Tower restoration
1. The Timeball mast has been replaced and the mechanism set to work. The ball drops at 1300 daily. There will be a commentated Timeball drop and countdown on New Year’s Eve.
2. The exterior of the Timeball Tower has been restored. The roof has been repaired. The windows and doors have been refurbished and replaced, where necessary. The building is now properly watertight. Some of the internal plasterwork has been removed as a damp reduction measure. The scaffolding will be removed before Christmas.
Opening
3. We are not able to open for New Years Day because of continued internal damp reduction measures. We plan to re-open for Easter weekend, 15-18 April 2022.
TIMEBALL UPDATE
The new mast has been fitted. The Timeball has been restored and the mechanism set to work.
The ball drops at 1300 daily.
MAST REPAIR UPDATE – 11 October 2021
Mast repair
The mast was replaced today. Over the next two days the mechanism will be re-assembled. The plan is for the Timeball to be working by Wednesday 13th October.
Opening
We are not able to open for safety reasons whilst the building is clad in scaffolding. It is planned to remove the scaffolding in early December. Therefore we will not be able to open for the October half term, 24th-29th October.
We next plan to open on New Year’s Day 2022 from 1130-1430. We will of course have a commentary and countdown to midnight on New Year’s Eve this year. We will have a more formal re-opening at Easter 2022.
A new mast at last!
A new mast has been fabricated and fitted out. It is ready to fit to the Timeball Tower.
It was planned to fit the new mast on Tuesday 5th October. Due to the weather forecast this option has been cancelled. The crane will be in position from 0800 on Monday 11th October ready for replacing the mast.
TIMEBALL UPDATE AUGUST 2021
Work has started to refurbish the exterior of the Timeball Tower. The rear courtyard has been paved and proper drainage installed. This should alleviate flooding and damp penetration in the rear ground floor.
Scaffolding was erected in the first week of August. This is to facilitate the mast replacement and roof repairs. The newly fabricated mast was sent to Gillett & Johnston in mid-Julyht ago to fit the moving parts which to connect to the raising/lowering mechanism. It is not expected to be ready for a few weeks. We hope that the new mast will be in place by early September. The whole mast replacement costs are in the region of £60K.
Whilst the scaffolding is erected work will be undertaken to re-slate and repair the roof. Essential exterior and some internal damp reduction measures will also be put in place. When further funding is available a comprehensive restoration of the exterior of the tower will be undertaken. The building is 201 years old and is showing its age.
Accordingly, the Timeball will not open this summer season.
However, we do plan that we open for the week of the October school half term (Saturday 23rd October to Sunday 31st October). Our next important event would be to open New Years Eve & Day. The New Year’s eve drop will have commentary to celebrate the 167th anniversary of the first Timeball drop.
Our income has been severely impacted due to the pandemic closure.
The Deal Museum Trust are seeking to raise funds to replace our lost revenue and assist our landlord, Dover District Council, to cover some of the costs of the replacement of the Timeball mast. We are looking to raise £10K. For details of hown to make a donation please see our website - www.dealtimeball.co.uk OR our Facebook page - Deal Timeball Tower.
TIMEBALL TOWER UPDATE 18/06/2021
The situation today is that a new mast, constructed in mild steel, is being manufactured in Deal. After manufacture, it has to be sent to Gillett & Johnston, Clockmakers, to install various moving parts and set the Timeball mechanism to work. We are hopeful this should be completed by the end of next month. Once we are past the mast replacement state, the TBT will remain completely scaffolded, ready to start work on the outside.
A full survey has been carried out on the 201 year old building which has highlighted that damp is trapped between the external rendering and internal plastering. Both the materials used in the past are totally unsuitable. The present plan is to remove the external rendering and some of the internal plasterwork to get the building to breathe and get to the worst areas of damp. Other measures will be put in place to increase internal ventilation especially out of season. It may be that the render is not replaced but left to breathe and depending on the state of the brickwork, left bare.
There is a long list of defects but the key items are to replace the mast, cure any roof leaks and make a start on solving the damp issues. The courtyard at the back will be worked on to remove one of the sources of damp. At present, we plan to open in mid-August. We should be able to open with the scaffolding up but not before the ball has been set to work and the upper floor internal scaffolding removed.
We are very keen to open this season even for a brief period. We are committed (tbc) to participate in Heritage Open Day on Saturday 18th September. Our next important key event is the New Year Timeball Drop.
Visit Us
Admission prices
Adults £3.00, Children 5 and over and Students £2.00, Children under 5 free.
Discounts available for groups - please discuss your requirements with us.
Updated Opening Times for 2024
Easter: Friday 29th, Saturday 30th, Sunday 31st March and Monday 1st April; 11:30am to 4:30pm.
Spring: Saturdays and Sundays only from 4th May to 2nd June, inclusive; 11:30am to 4:30pm.
Public Holidays: Mondays 6th and 27th May; 26th August 11:30am to 4:30pm.
Summer season: From Wednesday 5th June to Sunday 29th September, Wednesday to Sunday inclusive; 11:30am to 4:30pm.
During this summer period, the Tower will be closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
Website: http://www.dealtimeball.co.uk/
The Tower reopened at Easter 2004, following a number of years of closure, with a series of new displays related to communication, semaphore and signalling. In early 2020, all the storyboards were renewed with a completely new series of presentations, some of them interactive.
The museum is on four floors with no ramp or lift access. People with disabilities are advised to phone in advance. Coach trips and groups are also advised to contact us in advance.
Read a potted history (PDF file) (this can also be found in the attachments link at the bottom of this page).
Timeball Drop
The Timeball is programmed to drop every day at 1pm. Additionally, during the open season (1 April – 30 September) the ball drops hourly from 9am to 5pm. The Timeball is also normally programmed to drop at midnight on New Years’ Eve. The drop cycle is as follows: At 5 minutes to the hour the ball goes half way up; at 3 minutes to the hour it goes to the top of the mast and drops on the hour. The drop cycle is automatic. The Timeball is controlled by the MSF Radio Time Signal transmitter located at Anthorn, in Cumbria.
Membership Subscriptions
Download the standing order form (PDF).
We also have a Gift Aid Form (PDF) for donations.
Both of these forms can also be found in the attachments link at the bottom of this page.
Location map
Click on map for interactive version.
