Observatories · West Midlands
Radcliffe Observatory
Radcliffe Observatory — a Grade I-listed observatory in england-west-midlands, United Kingdom.
Philip Halling — CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons licence
Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 1.5 h–2.5 h
- Best time of year
- Moonless winter nights (Oct–Mar)
- Limited wheelchair access
About
Radcliffe Observatory is a Grade I-listed building in england-west-midlands, United Kingdom. Grade I status is conferred by Historic England (or Cadw, Historic Environment Scotland or NIEA equivalents) on buildings of exceptional national interest. See the linked Wikipedia article for full historical and architectural details.
Photo gallery
From the Wikipedia article
Radcliffe Observatory was the astronomical observatory of the University of Oxford from 1773 until 1934, when the Radcliffe Trustees sold it and built a new observatory in Pretoria, South Africa. It is a Grade I listed building. Today, the building forms part of Green Templeton College of the University of Oxford.
Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.
Background
History
on top of the observatory]] The observatory was founded and named after the physician John Radcliffe (1650–1714) by the Radcliffe Trustees. It was built on the suggestion of the astronomer Thomas Hornsby, who was occupying the Savilian Chair of Astronomy, following his observation of the notable transit of Venus across the Sun's disc in 1769 from a room in the nearby Radcliffe Infirmary. The observatory building, at a site on Woodstock Road, commenced to designs by Henry Keene in 1772 and was completed in 1794 to the designs of James Wyatt. It has a prominent octagonal tower based on the Tower of the Winds in Athens, topped with a statue by John Bacon of Atlas holding up the World. Until…
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 51.7608, -1.2639
- County
- Oxfordshire
- District
- Oxford
- Parish
- Oxford, unparished area
- Postcode
- OX2 6GG
- Parliamentary constituency
- Oxford West and Abingdon
- Established
- 1794
- Official site
- www.bate.ox.ac.uk
Sources
- wikidata: Q2066160 (CC0)
- wikipedia: Radcliffe Observatory (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Frequently asked questions
- Where is Radcliffe Observatory?
- Radcliffe Observatory is in Oxfordshire, the West Midlands, United Kingdom (postcode OX2 6GG), in the parish of Oxford, unparished area.
- When was Radcliffe Observatory built?
- Built or established in 1794.
- Who owns Radcliffe Observatory?
- Radcliffe Observatory is owned by Green Templeton College.
- Is Radcliffe Observatory a listed building?
- Radcliffe Observatory is officially recognised as Grade I listed.
- How do I get to Radcliffe Observatory?
- Drivers can navigate to postcode OX2 6GG. It sits within the Oxford West and Abingdon parliamentary constituency.