Pencil drawing made by Richarda Airy and initialled 'R.A.' Richarda Airy, née Smith (c.1805-1875) married George Airy in 1830, five years before his appointment as Astronomer Royal. She lived at the Observatory for over 40 years and took an active interest in her husband’s work. An amateur artist, she provided illustrations for many of George’s lectures.

This drawing shows Flamsteed House from One Tree Hill, a famous spot for tumbling revellers during Greenwich Fair. Greenwich Fair was held at Greenwich Park until its suspension in 1857 and was famously described by Dickens in ‘Sketches by Boz’ (1836).

A similar view of the Observatory from the same vantage point, painted by Richarda’s daughter Christabel Airy in 1873, is held in the collections of the Greenwich Heritage Centre. A further sketch by Richarda Airy showing the Airy’s cottage at Playford is held in the collections of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich [http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/145982.html].