Radcliffe Observatory was the

astronomical observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

from 1773 until 1934, when the Radcliffe Trustees sold it and built a new observatory in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

, South Africa. It is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. Today, the building forms part of

Green Templeton College Green Templeton College (GTC) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The college is located on the former Green College site on Woodstock Road next to the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter in North Oxford and is ...

of the University of Oxford.

History

The observatory was founded and named after the physician John Radcliffe (1650–1714) by the Radcliffe Trustees. It was built on the suggestion of the astronomer

Thomas Hornsby Thomas Hornsby (1733 in Durham – 11 April 1810 in Oxford) was a British astronomer and mathematician. Life Hornsby became a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford in 1760. He occupied the Savilian Chair of Astronomy at Oxford University fr ...

, who was occupying the

Savilian Chair of Astronomy The position of Savilian Professor of Astronomy was established at the University of Oxford in 1619. It was founded (at the same time as the Savilian Professor of Geometry, Savilian Professorship of Geometry) by Henry Savile (Bible translator), S ...

, following his observation of the notable

transit of Venus A transit of Venus takes place when Venus passes directly between the Sun and the Earth (or any other superior planet), becoming visible against (and hence obscuring a small portion of) the solar disk. During a transit, Venus is visible as ...

across the sun's disc in 1769 from a room in the nearby

Radcliffe Infirmary The Radcliffe Infirmary was a hospital in central north Oxford, England, located at the southern end of Woodstock Road on the western side, backing onto Walton Street. Closed in 2007, after refurbishment the building was re-opened in October ...

. The observatory building, at a site on Woodstock Road, commenced to designs by Henry Keene in 1772 and was completed in 1794 to the designs of

James Wyatt James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the Neoclassicism, neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to ...

. It has a prominent octagonal

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

based on the

Tower of the Winds The Tower of the Winds, known as the in Greek, and by #Names, other names, is an octagonal Pentelic marble tower in the Roman Agora in Athens, named after the eight large reliefs of wind gods around its top. Its date is uncertain, but was compl ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, topped with a statue by John Bacon of

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of world map, maps of Earth or of a continent or region of Earth. Advances in astronomy have also resulted in atlases of the celestial sphere or of other planets. Atlases have traditio ...

holding up the World. Until 1839, the Savilian Chair of Astronomy was responsible for the observatory. At this date the appointment of

George Henry Sacheverell Johnson George Henry Sacheverell Johnson FRS (1808 – 5 November 1881) was a British clergyman and academic who was Dean of Wells and a professor at the University of Oxford. Life and career Johnson studied at The Queen's College, Oxford, winning a col ...

– an astronomer with no observational experience – caused the creation of the new role of Radcliffe Observer. Because of the viewing conditions, weather, urban development and light pollution at

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, the observatory was moved to South Africa in 1939. Eventually that site, in

, also became untenable and the facility was combined with others into the

South African Astronomical Observatory The South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) is the national centre for optical and infrared astronomy in South Africa. It was established in 1972. The observatory is run by the National Research Foundation of South Africa. The facility's f ...

(SAAO) in the 1970s. The building is now used by

and is a centrepiece of the college. The original instruments are now in the

Museum of the History of Science, Oxford The History of Science Museum in Broad Street, Oxford, Broad Street, Oxford, England, holds a leading collection of scientific instruments from Science in the Middle Ages, Middle Ages to the 19th century. The museum building is also known as the ...

, except for the Radcliffe 18/24-inch Twin Refractor telescope, which was transferred to the

University of London Observatory UCL Observatory (called the University of London Observatory until 2015) at Mill Hill in London is an astronomical teaching observatory. It is part of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at University College London. History The Observator ...

Radcliffe Observers

The following have been Radcliffe Observers: * 1839

Manuel John Johnson Manuel John Johnson, FRS (23 May 1805 – 28 February 1859) was a British astronomer. He was born in Macao, China, the son of John William Roberts of the East India Company and was educated at Mr Styles' Classical Academy in Thames Ditton and at ...

* 1860

Robert Main The Reverend Robert Main (12 July 1808 – 9 May 1878) was an English astronomer. Life Born at Upnor in Kent, he was the eldest son of Thomas Main; Thomas John Main the mathematician was a younger brother. Robert Main attended school in ...

* 1879

Edward James Stone Edward James Stone FRS FRAS (28 February 18316 May 1897) was an English astronomer. He was born in Notting Hill, London to Edward and Sarah Stone. Educated at the City of London School, he obtained a studentship at King's College London, an ...

* 1897

Arthur Alcock Rambaut Arthur Alcock Rambaut (21 September 1859 – 14 October 1923) was an Irish astronomer. Life Rambaut was born in County Waterford, Ireland, the third son of Rev. Edmund F. Rambaut, vicar of Christ Church, Blackrock, County Dublin. He was educate ...

* 1924 Harold Knox-Shaw * 1950

David Thackeray Andrew David Thackeray (19 June 1910 – 21 February 1978), was an astronomer trained at Cambridge University. He served as director of the Radcliffe Observatory for 23 years. Career Thackeray went to school at Eton College, where he observed me ...

Gallery

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1772 establishments in England Astronomical observatories in England Astronomical observatories in South Africa Buildings and structures of the University of Oxford Departments of the University of Oxford Grade I listed buildings in Oxford Grade I listed scientific buildings Green Templeton College, Oxford Buildings and structures completed in 1794 Towers completed in 1794 Towers in Oxford James Wyatt buildings Defunct astronomical observatories University and college astronomical observatories

History

Radcliffe Observers

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links