Royal Observatory - Greenwich, London, UK - Satellite Imagery Oddities on Waymarking.com

The Royal Observatory Greenwich is made up of a number of buildings, the majority of which are listed.

FLAMSTEED HOUSE: This is a Grade I listed building with the entry at the English Heritage website telling us:

1675-6 with later additions, attributed to Sir Christopher Wren. Main North front of 2 storeys. 3 window centre with square 3-storey angle towers. Projecting eaves cornices and domed caps with high vanes to towers. Red brick with white stone quoins, both to towers and to main building. Very tall 1st floor with projecting cornice and balustrade over between towers. Very long plain central window in chamfered stone architrave. Wrought iron balcony. Side windows in moulded, shouldered architraves. Stone string at 1st floor level. 7-window ground floor. Parapet with stone coping has scrolled ramped inner part sweeping up almost to cornice of main block. Moulded architraves to ground floor windows. Door at left opening to walled terrace blocked at either end by 2-storey, 1-window C18 pavilions in similar style with domes. Rear elevation a large canted bay with coved and moulded cornice and balustraded parapet. 1st floor only visible as 1-storey C19 brick extension masks ground floor. Entrance on East, in angle at right, has porch protection with roof sloping up to front parapet. Side and rear windows very long casements in shouldered, moulded stone architraves. Beneath East window a plaque in richly carved baroque stone frame with serpentine open pediment, bears Latin inscription stating that Charles II founded the observatory in 1676. Inside a staircase with barley-sugar twist columns leads to the octagon room containing historic portraits, telescopes and clocks. Coved, octagonal ceiling centre wth decorative border. Moulded and coved cornice with garlands in high relief and royal ciphers. A later staircase leads down to the rear extension now laid out as a museum of historic astronomical instruments.

FORMER GREAT EQUATORIAL BUILDING: This is a Grade I listed building with the entry at the English Heritage website telling us:

Mid C19 octagonal stock brick building of 3 storeys with red brick window arches to sashes with glaring bars; and stone 1st floor band. Wood gallery around 2nd floor. Low domed roof, a replacement for large onion dome which was removed when the Great Equatorial telescope was transferred to another building.

THE TRANSIT HOUSE: This is a Grade I listed building with the entry at the English Heritage website telling us:

C17 and C18 2-storey brick building with C19 and modern alterations. This contains the transit telescopes of 3 Astronomers Royal, with a collection of other relevant material; and the finally-decided Prime Meridian runs trough the Eastern part. A series of rooms on tle South side fitted and furnished as if to be used by the 1st Astronomer Royal in late C17.

ALTAZIMUTH PAVILION: This is a Grade II listed building with the entry at the English Heritage website telling us:

Altazimuth house incorporating garden shelter. Circa 1899. In grounds of New Physical Laboratory built between 1890 and 1899, in same style and probably by same hand, William Crisp in close collaboration with W H M Christie, Astronomer Royal. Built of red brick in Flemish bond with terracotta decoration and roof covered in C20 synthetic roof covering. Comprises one storey polygonal structure, open to one side with elaborate porches at each side and central dome with elaborate cast iron finial with sun emblem and coved cornice with oculi to observe stars and planets. North west side has five sashes with horns and only the upper parts glazed. Porches have terracotta moulding of triglyphs and paterae, elaborate console brackets and oculus above a terracotta doorcase with engaged fluted and rusticated Tuscan columns and entablature with triglyphs and eared architrave with panel inscribed "ALTAZIMUTH". There are interior panels and double doors with eight panels, the top two panels glazed and three concrete steps. Elaborate octagonal cast iron lamps with star finial on either side of porches. South east side is a garden shelter with five open cambered arches, ribbed ceiling and wooden seats. Three steps to ground. Interior not seen. An altazimuth is a structure for measuring the altitude and azimuth of a celestial body.

ROYAL OBSERVATORY SOUTH BUILDING: This is a Grade II listed building with the entry at the English Heritage website telling us:

Former New Physical Observatory to the Royal Greenwich Observatory, now offices and planetarium. 1892-99 by William Crisp in close collaboration with W H M Christie, Astronomer Royal. Banded brick and Doulton terracotta, slate roof rising to central flat area with decorative iron railings. Cruciform plan of two storeys and attics on steeply sloping site with central copper dome built to house the Lassell Dome telescope. Central core presents single-bay canted front to each side, from which project two-bay wings terminating in paired stacks. Germano-Italianate Renaissance style, the ground floor with Gibbsian surrounds and keystones to wooden casement windows, the first floors over heavy sill bands with de Vriesian pilasters, mullions and transoms. Aediculed dormers with pediments. North side of centrepiece has a double-height composition of mullions and transoms with decorated panels between and below. Principal entrance on first floor at end of eastern arm, reached up six steps, with double door under round headed opening and flanked by pilasters. Balcony over with pedimented dormer behind. Many decorative plaques and shields devised by Doultons for the building. Over each first floor window is a plaque to an important British scientist or astromer, with Newton reserved for the centre and Flamsteed, Bradley, Maskelyne and Airy on the ends of the wings - these last deemed the positions of greatest honour. Bust of John Flamsteed, the first Astronomer Royal, by J Raymond Smith, c.1898-9. The South Building was constructed to house the Lassell Dome telescope and to house the Royal Observatory's pioneering work in astronomical photography. It later housed the two 'Thompson equatorial' telescopes. The vigorous display of terracotta work is demonstrative of that material at its best.