Time Ball Project
Margate Civic Society approached Standfast Security to help with the renovation project of the Margate Clock Tower Time Ball. They planned to have the Time Ball working again and the official launch on 24th May 2014, a belated commemoration of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee.
The Time Ball had not worked for many years due to serious mechanical problems caused by sea spray.
The Time Ball is a large copper ball which is raised to the top of a mast at the pinnacle of the tower and is dropped at a precise time. This allowed ships at sea and any other onlookers to set their clocks accurately, especially useful in the days before time signals were sent by radio.
The big day…waiting for the Time Ball to drop….






Our work
To reinstate the lock to the main door of Margate Clock Tower. Sounds simple enough but it had to be ‘in keeping’ with the history of the building. As a local family business we are proud of our connections with Margate and were happy to donate time and materials to this worthy project. We were tasked with supplying a suitable old lock & key, this wasn’t possible, so our Locksmiths set about adapting and making new parts for an antique lock, originally from a church and making by hand a new intricate key; luckily our Locksmiths have experience in this line of work, having worked on various antique locks for over 30 years. As you can imagine this was a time consuming specialised project.
How we did it
We started by turning down the shaft on a lathe to create the diameter, detail and length we required. Then milled it to accommodate the head and bit. The head was roughly cut from a piece of 6mm mild steel then shaped to create a quatrefoil style head. Our next task was to make the ‘bit’ this is the part that turns in the lock. This again was cut and shaped from a piece of 12mm mild steel, both of these parts were slotted in place and attached to the shaft. To help protect this lock from the elements a steel escutcheon complete with flap has been made, this was attached to the external side of this door to give some protection from the elements.
We were now ready to repair the lock prior to cutting this key. Despite its age, surprisingly the lock only needed a small amount of repair, namely the outer casing where the weather had caused corrosion. We were then able to start cutting the key bit to suit the lock. This, like the whole job, is labour intensive as each part is cut slowly by hand, as you can imagine we didn’t want any mistakes! Once this was completed the key was polished.
Finally, the timber case, after returning to the clock tower for final measurements we cut the block of hardwood to size and fitted the lock flush into this block, made a striking box and sealed the timber.
The finishing touch, a brass plaque engraved that will be mounted on the lock and the key engraved with the date. It will help future generations trace the history of the lock and key, should they wish.



Brief History:
Margate clock tower was constructed to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887 but was not complete until 1889. The clock tower was one of many options to celebrate this special event, some of these included a free library, an extension to the cottage hospital, a new town hall and many others. The local council appealed to the public for subscriptions towards the project and also set up a competition for the design of the tower. 63 entries were entered and eventually the design by Mr. Kaufman was chosen. A total of £2,100 was raised, bust some of this money was to be used on other events also. Due to the lack of funds raised a cheaper design by Mr. Henry Arthur Cheers was used to construct the clock tower. The construction was finally handed over in a civic ceremony on the 24th May 1889.
The tower holds five bells and above these was a time ball which used to raise just before 1pm and drop on the hour. The time ball has not worked for many years. The bells were replaced in 1908 by Gillett & Johnson, Croydon.