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RGO Herstmonceux: buildings, telescopes and site plans, 1933 and 1947-1981

 Series
Reference Code: GBR/0180/RGO 101/3

Scope and Contents

The move of the Royal Observatory to the site of Herstmonceux Castle, Sussex, began in 1948 and was completed by 1957. The Observatory occupied the Castle building and hutments, and a large building programme was led by architect Brian O'Rorke to complete the necessary new structures. The Herstmonceux site was home to the RGO until 1990 when it moved to Cambridge.

This series includes site plans, plans of Herstmonceux Castle, and plans and drawings of the new RGO structures on the Herstmonceux estate, including the Equatorial Group of Telescopes, Meridian Group of Telescopes, West Building (housing the Time and Nautical Almanac Building, Chronometer Workshop, Electronics and Engineering Workshops etc.), and Isaac Newton Telescope Dome. It also includes plans of the temporary hutments where staff were housed until suitable accommodation became available.

Notable are the colour drawings of the staircase of Herstmonceux Castle (RGO 101/3/2/1) and colour elevation and section drawings and plans of the Equatorial Group of Telescopes by Brian O'Rorke (RGO 101/3/5/1/18-22).

In addition to building plans, the series includes technical drawings of telescopes and instruments, including the Photographic Zenith Tube and Yapp 36'' Reflector. Many of the plans and drawings in this series were created by external agencies, including Brian O'Rorke and Grubb Parsons and Co.

Dates

  • Creation: 1933 and 1947-1981

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

From the Management Group:

Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).

Extent

299 sheet(s) (298 outsize sheets in plan chest folders) : paper

4 archive box(es) : paper

Arrangement

The drawings in this series are arranged in chronological order, except where otherwise stated.

Related Materials

For drawings of the Solar Dome, see RGO 101/1/MM.

Repository Details

Part of the Cambridge University Library Repository

Contact:
Cambridge University Library
West Road
Cambridge CB3 9DR United Kingdom