This vast Royal Observatory was built during the 1900s after London's polluted air meant the original Royal Observatory struggled to make out stars. The original was built in the 1600s under order of King Charles II. Its task was to created accurate star maps to allow sailors — who were often wrecked due to poor navigational abilities — to calculate their longitude. When the observatory succeeded in this goal, they continued producing lunar tables and other crucial parts of marine navigation.

Later and thwarted by British weather, the main telescope was moved to a Canarian observatory run by the Royal Greenwich Observatory and the remains of the site at Herstmonceux was moved to Cambridge.Today, the science centre here at Herstmonceux is an excellent educational facilities for school trips and offers lectures and exhibitions.

Mareike

August 16, 2020

The Royal Observatory at Greenwich was founded by King Charles II in 1675. In the 19th century, observing conditions in London had deteriorated markedly. The city's smoky air and bright lights meant that astronomers could no longer study faint objects in the night sky, so they decided to move to Herstmonceux. The transfer began in 1947 and by 1958 the new Royal Observatory was fully up and running. Find out more at the-observatory.org/rgohistory.

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Elevation 40 m

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Location: Herstmonceux, Wealden, East Sussex, South East England, England, United Kingdom

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