Royal Greenwich Observatory

London, SE10 9NF
  • Royal Greenwich Observatory
Description: King Charles II founded the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, which used to be the Royal Greenwich Observatory, in 1675. The museum documents the history ... Read More Below
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Commissioned by King Charles II in 1675, the Royal Observatory is part of the National Maritime Museum and is situated in Greenwich Park. Built to 'find out the much desired longitude of places for the perfecting of the art of navigation' the original part of the Observatory was designed by Christopher Wren, and was the first purpose-built scientific research facility in Britain. Today, the Observatory houses a museum of astronomical and navigational tools, and is home to the 28-inch Grubb Refracting Telescope of 1893, the largest of its kind in the UK. Other treasures include a longitude marine chronometer, the Russian-made FM Fedchenko clock and the Shepherd Clock, an example of an electric slave clock. In 2007, the Peter Harrison Planetarium was erected on the site. The closest DLR station is Cutty Sark, and both Greenwich and Maze Hill overland railway stations are within easy walking distance of the Observatory.




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