John Flamsteed was appointed as Charles II’s astronomical observer. As he was the first Royal Astronomer, I begin to understand why the oldest building at the Royal Observatory is named after him – Flamsteed House. John was appointed on 4th March 1675, but it wasn’t till 22nd June that the decision was made to build ‘a small observatory within our park at Greenwich, upon the highest ground’.
The name Christopher Wren has come up in my previous meanderings in Oxford and more recently at Kensington Palace. A well-known architect, I have yet to write about his most famous work, St Paul’s Cathedral, London. Watch this space! Before Christopher became a well-known architect, he had been a professor of astronomy at Oxford. He and his assistant, Robert Hooke, suggested the ruined site of Greenwich Castle. They reasoned that solid foundations were already in place, there was excellent access to London via road and river, and the site was far enough away to avoid air pollution from the city.
The foundation stone was laid 10th August 1675 by John and 11 months later, on 10 July 1676, he moved in. John was to spend the next 40 years observing the moon and the stars. On entering Flamsteed House, you are provided with information regarding the 10 Astronomers Royal that lived and worked here:
John Flamsteed (1675-1719), Edmond Halley (1720-1742), James Bradley (1742-1762), Nathaniel Bliss (1762-1764), Nevil Maskelyne (1765-1811), John Pond (1811-1835), Sir George Biddell Airy (1835-1881), Sir William Henry Mahoney Christie (1881-1910), Sir Frank Watson Dyson (1910-1933), Sir Harold Spencer Jones (1933-1955) & Sir Richard van der Riet Woolley (1956-1971).
As I walk round Flamsteed House it becomes clear that the Royal Observatory’s life began to evolve from the early days of a basic observation post into more of a family home. The tour looks at the families of two of the Astronomers Royal and their families – The Maskelyne & Airy Family. Observatory life began to change as guests would be wined and dined, and the families began to live with the astronomers. This meant that Flamsteed House was expanded to accommodate more people as seen when walking around.