Pencil drawing made and presented by Miss Elizabeth Smith, of Brampton near Chesterfield, Derbyshire.

In this drawing of Flamsteed House from within the Front Court, the Octagon Room is shown (centre) with the North East Dome to the right. The Time Ball is depicted in a raised position, two minutes before its drop at one o’clock. The Time Ball was mounted in 1833 as a time signal for mariners within sight on the Thames. The ball was raised halfway five minutes before the hour and then raised the whole way two minutes before the hour. The time was recorded when the ball began descending.

A sketch of the Time Ball, fallen into the Front Court in December 1855, can be seen at [RGO 116/6/6/2]. A similar view of Flamsteed House, drawn two years later, shows the porch and covered passage linking the house to the Observatory, which were added by Airy in 1839 and 1840 [RGO 116/3/12].