Walking the Willett Way (Walking tour) July 7, 2007

Walking the Willett Way (Walking tour)
7 Jul 2007
Times: 11.00 – 14.00
£10

William Willett (1856-1915), an Edwardian house-builder and daylight fanatic, was the modern pioneer of what we now call Daylight Saving Time (or British Summer Time), though the idea was originally proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1784. In 1907 Willett wrote an influential pamphlet that presented his case, including to the British government, of moving the clocks forward an hour in the spring in order to enjoy longer, lighter summer evenings.

Find out about Willett, his visionary ideas, buildings, life, passions and the memorials dedicated to him on this guided walk around his home ground of Petts Wood and Chislehurst in Kent. The Royal Observatory, Greenwich has a special exhibition on 100 years of British Summer Time opening this year, and this walk, devised and led by the exhibition's curator, David Rooney, will demonstrate just how important south-east London was to the international adoption of Daylight Saving Time.

David Rooney, Curator of Time-Keeping, NMM
Please note: the walk lasts approximately three hours and takes in uneven terrain, stepped-access footbridges and several miles of walking. You are advised to bring a packed lunch.

Location: the walk starts at Petts Wood BR station and ends in the Daylight Inn

Official Website: http://www.nmm.ac.uk/server/show/conEvent.1646