The Royal Observatory, Greenwich: A History in Objects

Tells the history of the Royal Observatory through instruments, photographs and archive documents.

When King Charles II signed the royal warrant that led to the founding of the Royal Observatory in 1675, it was to ensure that Britain was not left behind other European nations as they pursued global trade and resources. Now, in its 350th year, the ‘small observatory within our park at Greenwich’ is perhaps the most famous such institution in the world, home to the historic Prime Meridian of the World, 0° longitude, and an essential reference on our clocks, watches, maps and globes. The 100 objects contained within the pages of this book highlight the many people, ideas and technologies that contributed to ‘perfecting the art of navigation’ and mapping the stars. They include some of the most famous objects in the Royal Observatory’s collection, like John Harrison’s pioneering timekeepers, the Great Equatorial Telescope and the Shepherd Motor Clock, along with lesser-known items that document how our ideas about time and space have changed over the centuries. Moreover, they represent the Observatory’s varied functions: as a data service for stellar, lunar and planetary positions and timings; as a hub of global significance for leading researchers, intellectuals and craftsmen; the site of early astrophotography; and even as a private home for the families of the Astronomers Royal. Arranged in chronological order, instruments, photographs, plans and archival documents tell the story of the Royal Observatory from its early days as Britain’s first state-funded purpose-built scientific institution, through periods of rapid scientific and social change, all the way to its twilight years at the forefront of astronomical research in the first few decades of the twentieth century. Today, the Observatory is once more a working observing site but also a heritage centre and home to London’s only planetarium, seeking to inform and inspire with stories of discovery, innovation and wonder.

Louise Devoy is Senior Curator, Royal Observatory at Royal Museums Greenwich. She has a background in astrophysics and the history of science and has worked at various museums in the UK and abroad. Her research interests encompass astronomical instruments, women in astronomy and networks of knowledge exchange between historic observatories.