York Historic Environment Record

YORK SE5952SE MUSEUM GARDENS 1112-1/12/776 Observatory 02/11/72 GV II Observatory. 1832-33, restored 1981. Telescope designed and built by Thomas Cooke of York, rotating conical roof designed by John Smeaton, for the Yorkshire Philosophical Society. Magnesian limestone ashlar with lead roof. PLAN: octagonal on shallow plinth. EXTERIOR: basement and 2 storeys, lower storey with moulded cornice, upper storey set back. Door is of 4 flush panels. Each alternate face on ground floor has 12-pane sash window with slender glazing bars. Upper storey has 2-light casement windows. Openings are chamfered. INTERIOR: not inspected. HISTORICAL NOTE: the observatory was built following the inaugural meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1831, restored and refitted in 1981 to mark the Association's 150th anniversary. For many years, the telescope it housed was the largest refracting telescope in the world. (An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the City of York: RCHME: Outside the City Walls East of the Ouse: HMSO London: 1975-: 45). Listing NGR: SE6049052070