London’s Other Royal Observatory

Ever on the look out for quirky museums and sites to visit, when I saw that King’s Observatory was opening to visitors for the first time I was delighted to bag a ticket for the tours.

Before I saw the tours advertised I’d never even heard of the King’s Observatory. It turns out, I had good reason. It’s a private home owned by Robbie Brothers, a developer with a special interest in restoring historic properties.

Kings Observatory

History of The King’s Observatory

Richmond has long been an attractive spot for English Kings, with plenty of rolling greenery and the prospect of great deer hunting. The King’s Observatory sits within the Old Deer Park, a 360-acre green space set out in 1604 under King James I.

Kings Observatory

He’s not the King that gives his name to the observatory though, that falls to King George III. As a keen astronomer, George wanted to observe the transit of Venus and so – because he’s the King – ordered a bespoke observatory to be built.

Kings Observatory

King George III (ruled 1760-1820)

Kings Observatory

His wife Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and their children

The Transit of Venus

Kings Observatory

King George was an astronomy fan, but was particularly excited to see the transit of Venus across the Sun, something only repeated every 105 and 121 years. By viewing and measuring the passage of Venus, 18th Century Scientists hoped to calculate the size of the solar system and estimate of the distance between the Earth and the Sun.

As well as across Europe, the transit was observed by James Cook in South Pacific. It was the space-race of the 1700s and everyone was excited.

Kings Observatory

The telescope (not the original) is housed in the Cupola, the round space at the top of the house. It’s the oldest of its type in the World and the crank mechanism still works, revolving the ceiling to allow for better alignment.

Then what?

After the excitement of the Transit of Venus, the King’s Observatory became a centre for instrument making. Equipment made here was stamped with ‘K.O.’ to indicate it met the high standards of the profession.

From 1840 it passed out fo royal hands and was used as a meteorological office in the early 20th century, as well as a convenient place to study sun spots.

In 1981 the land and house was handed back to the Crown Estate and was leased as a commercial office, bizarrely used as the head office of Autoglass until 2011! In 2014 permission was granted to changed the building’s use from commercial to residential.

Exploring the House

King George chose Sir William Chambers as the architect. One of the most famous architects of his time, he followed the Palladian style and his most famous work is probably Somerset House.

Kings Observatory

Firstly, I had a new appreciation of how hard it must be, finding furniture which suits octagonal rooms.

Kings Observatory

But an intriguing element to the house today is its cultural fusion.

Robbie Brother lives in Hong Kong and so the walls which would’ve originally held astronomical instruments now hold Tang and Ming dynasty sculpture from his own collection.

Kings Observatory
Kings Observatory

And in another room the walls are covered in silk paintings.

Kings Observatory

We were told it took 10 artists one year to create these delicate artworks in 2008.

Kings Observatory

How to Visit

King’s Observatory is currently running a series public tours until 23 October 2020, you can book here. But if you can’t make it then, you can also sign up, registering your interest for future tours.

More London Inspiration

6 Comments

  • Barbara Ellis

    Reply

    This is fascinating, thank you, and I have signed up for the next tour, when it happens! . Do you have any idea how I could contact Robbie Brothers? I would like him to correct “astrology” to “astronomy” in his otherwise excellent account of the observatory history in http://www.kingsobservatory.co.uk.

    June 13, 2019 at 11:23 am
  • Phil Redshaw

    Reply

    Another one is UCL Observatory (UCLO) at Mill Hill https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-observatory/ which has open days for members of the public

    May 2, 2020 at 8:39 pm
  • Genevieve

    Reply

    We too managed to get on a tour round this. It’s so beautifully restored, I found myself thinking sometimes money’s not wasted on the rich. Unfortunately, then I read on Robbie Brothers. Predictably depressing story:
    https://www.building.co.uk/comment/cant-pay-wont-pay/5107791.article

    August 17, 2022 at 12:10 pm

Post a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

BOOK NOW