An exact working replica of an early British computer, the EDSAC, will be rebuilt in public view at the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park.

The EDSAC (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator) was built in 1949 at the University of Cambridge. The recreation of the EDSAC has been commissioned by the UK's Computer Conservation Society (CCS).

The original EDSAC was the world's first ever programmable computer, capable of running around 650 instructions per second.

Speaking on the topic, the CCS' chairman David Hartley said, "EDSAC was the first to go into regular service to help the people Sir Maurice saw in Cambridge, researchers struggling with computation using desk calculators."

The original EDSAC has 2KB of memory in mercury delay lines. But, its replica is unlikely to be equipped with mercury delay lines due to modern health and safety rules.

A consortium led by Acorn's co-founder Hermann Hauser has been raising funds for the project, which is expected to cost around 250,000 pounds.

The National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park Bletchley Park, where the working replica of the original EDSAC will be displayed, was the UK's code-breaking centre during Second World War.