Shared description
The Royal Greenwich Observatory at Herstmonceux
[b]Introduction[/b]
The Royal Greenwich Observatory (RGO) was founded in 1675 on the orders of King Charles II and was located in Greenwich, beside the River Thames east of London. For over 250 years it was the home of the Astronomer Royal and the centre of astronomy in Britain. Many will also recall its importance in timekeeping, navigation, and the determination of the prime meridian.
During the 20th century it became clear that Greenwich was no longer a suitable site for astronomy. Both weather and light pollution were against it. Shortly after World War II a site in East Sussex was found: Herstmonceux Castle, about 10km NNE of Eastbourne. The Astronomer Royal moved there, at least in spirit, in 1948 but the Observatory as a whole did not move until the site had been developed in 1957.
The stay at Herstmonceux was, however, of much shorter duration. The RGO arrived in 1957, but it left in 1990 to move to Cambridge and a site adjacent to the University Observatories. Astronomers at the time were opposed to the move, but most agreed that if RGO had to move, then Cambridge was the best place for it. Of course by then nobody thought of doing cutting-edge observational astronomy from Britain: telescopes had been moved to Maderia, and new ones were planned in the Chilean Andes.
That lasted for an even shorter time. In 1998 the RGO as an entity was closed, and its several functions scattered to the four winds. A few even returned to Greenwich!
[b]The Herstmonceux period[/b]
A group of six domes, known as the Equatorial Group, was erected about 500m east of the castle. This is difficult to describe, but (viewed from the south) imagine six dots in two rows of three, thus ::: I will call the top (northerly) row A B C and the bottom row E D F. (This slightly odd lettering was that used at the time, and it would merely confuse to change it now. See TQ6510 : Royal Greenwich Observatory, Herstmonceux - the Equatorial Group.) Then:
A housed the Thompson 30" reflecting telescope. This was first opened at Greenwich in 1896 and moved to Herstmonceux in the 1950s.
B housed the Yapp 36" reflecting telescope. This was first opened at Greenwich in 1934 and moved to Herstmonceux in the 1950s.
C contained a 38" Congo Schmidt telescopic camera, which was very rarely used owing to flaws in the optics.
E housed the Thompson 26" refractor.
D housed an Astrograph (wide-angle camera).
F housed the 28" telescope, a Grubb refractor originally opened at Greenwich in 1893. It was moved to Herstmonceux in 1947, and then returned to Greenwich in 1971. I presume that it was not thought suitable for moving to a modern observatory site overseas.
Most of these telescopes except F remain exhibits at the Observatory Science Centre.
In a separate dome about 350 metres to the SSW the Isaac Newton Telescope was inaugurated in 1967. This was a 98" reflector which initially used a mirror donated by the USA in 1949 (they must have wondered why it took us so long to put it to use!). But it was eventually accepted that East Sussex was not an ideal place for a large telescope (poor weather and much light pollution) and it was moved to La Palma in the Canary Islands, where it started operation (with a new, 100" mirror) in 1984. The new location was at an altitude of 2,400m and further south, which was also beneficial.
The dome that housed the INT is now empty and not open to the public.
(Apologies for the measurements in inches, but that is the way astronomers thought in those days. They refer to the diameter of the main lens or mirror.)
[i]Personal note by David Purchase[/i]
I worked at Herstmonceux for six weeks as a vacation student in 1963. The photos of my own to which this description is attached were taken in 1968 at the invitation of a Cambridge contemporary of mine who was by then working there.
I have submitted eight photographs using this Shared Description. Among other things, they demonstrate why Sussex (and by extension, Britain) is not the best place to locate expensive astronomical equipment.
The Royal Greenwich Observatory (RGO) was founded in 1675 on the orders of King Charles II and was located in Greenwich, beside the River Thames east of London. For over 250 years it was the home of the Astronomer Royal and the centre of astronomy in Britain. Many will also recall its importance in timekeeping, navigation, and the determination of the prime meridian.
During the 20th century it became clear that Greenwich was no longer a suitable site for astronomy. Both weather and light pollution were against it. Shortly after World War II a site in East Sussex was found: Herstmonceux Castle, about 10km NNE of Eastbourne. The Astronomer Royal moved there, at least in spirit, in 1948 but the Observatory as a whole did not move until the site had been developed in 1957.
The stay at Herstmonceux was, however, of much shorter duration. The RGO arrived in 1957, but it left in 1990 to move to Cambridge and a site adjacent to the University Observatories. Astronomers at the time were opposed to the move, but most agreed that if RGO had to move, then Cambridge was the best place for it. Of course by then nobody thought of doing cutting-edge observational astronomy from Britain: telescopes had been moved to Maderia, and new ones were planned in the Chilean Andes.
That lasted for an even shorter time. In 1998 the RGO as an entity was closed, and its several functions scattered to the four winds. A few even returned to Greenwich!
[b]The Herstmonceux period[/b]
A group of six domes, known as the Equatorial Group, was erected about 500m east of the castle. This is difficult to describe, but (viewed from the south) imagine six dots in two rows of three, thus ::: I will call the top (northerly) row A B C and the bottom row E D F. (This slightly odd lettering was that used at the time, and it would merely confuse to change it now. See TQ6510 : Royal Greenwich Observatory, Herstmonceux - the Equatorial Group.) Then:
A housed the Thompson 30" reflecting telescope. This was first opened at Greenwich in 1896 and moved to Herstmonceux in the 1950s.
B housed the Yapp 36" reflecting telescope. This was first opened at Greenwich in 1934 and moved to Herstmonceux in the 1950s.
C contained a 38" Congo Schmidt telescopic camera, which was very rarely used owing to flaws in the optics.
E housed the Thompson 26" refractor.
D housed an Astrograph (wide-angle camera).
F housed the 28" telescope, a Grubb refractor originally opened at Greenwich in 1893. It was moved to Herstmonceux in 1947, and then returned to Greenwich in 1971. I presume that it was not thought suitable for moving to a modern observatory site overseas.
Most of these telescopes except F remain exhibits at the Observatory Science Centre.
In a separate dome about 350 metres to the SSW the Isaac Newton Telescope was inaugurated in 1967. This was a 98" reflector which initially used a mirror donated by the USA in 1949 (they must have wondered why it took us so long to put it to use!). But it was eventually accepted that East Sussex was not an ideal place for a large telescope (poor weather and much light pollution) and it was moved to La Palma in the Canary Islands, where it started operation (with a new, 100" mirror) in 1984. The new location was at an altitude of 2,400m and further south, which was also beneficial.
The dome that housed the INT is now empty and not open to the public.
(Apologies for the measurements in inches, but that is the way astronomers thought in those days. They refer to the diameter of the main lens or mirror.)
[i]Personal note by David Purchase[/i]
I worked at Herstmonceux for six weeks as a vacation student in 1963. The photos of my own to which this description is attached were taken in 1968 at the invitation of a Cambridge contemporary of mine who was by then working there.
I have submitted eight photographs using this Shared Description. Among other things, they demonstrate why Sussex (and by extension, Britain) is not the best place to locate expensive astronomical equipment.
Created: Sun, 31 Mar 2024, Updated: Tue, 28 Jul 2026
8 images use this description: (all images taken in 1968)
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