VISITORS to the birthplace of Greenwich Mean Time will soon have the chance to learn more about the art of timekeeping.

The revamped Royal Observatory will next month open four new galleries devoted to the subject of time.

The galleries will allow visitors to view historic clocks and watches which date back to the 13th Century.

Visitors to the Observatory which is on the Greenwich Meridian Line will also be able to see other unusual objects such as telescopes, chronometers and sundials.

National Maritime Museum director Roy Clare says the collection will be the best display on the subject of time "anywhere in the world".

The galleries, which open on February 15, are part of a £15m revamp of the Observatory, which also includes a new 120-seat planetarium and an education centre.