Tuesday August 21, 1894

A man called from Mess^rs Troughton & Simms about the Position of the 28 Inch Micrometer. I shewed him the method of illumination used in the Astrographic Telescope. He had been unable to obtain a dark field and illuminated wires in the way suggested by the Astronomer Royal, and wished to use some prisms to reflect the light. M^r Lewis & I discussed the matter with him and agreed that M^r Simms should do it as he liked & alter it subsequently, if necessary.

Frank Dyson, Chief Assistant

Monday August 20, 1894

M^r Crisp called wanting to know whether Cooke’s tender for removing & remounting Lassell dome included the race. I shewed him the papers on the subject, but we found no definite statement whether this was included in the term “dome”. He explained that he intended to insert words like “including the race” in accepting the tender.

Frank Dyson, Chief Assistant

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RH says..... I am not sure what the "race" of the dome is, and may well have mis-read it. All suggestions welcome!

Thursday August 9 to Monday September 10, 1894

Went away on leave this evening to Jersey & Guernsey returning on evening of Monday Sep^t 10.

William Christie, Astronomer Royal

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RH says..... This, of course, means a gap in the Astronomer Royal's journal. Dyson was in charge of the observatory again but he does not seem to have been particularly assiduous in filling in his journal. I will be back briefly for a couple of entries on 20th and 21st August, but otherwise will see you in September.

Thursday August 9, 1894

M^r Cowdry came as Foreman of Works to superintend work on the new buildings.

William Christie, Astronomer Royal

Wednesday August 8, 1894

M^r Fowler came to practise with Transit C, preparation for work of determining longitudes in the settlement of boundary between Dahomey and

Frank Dyson, Chief Assistant

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RH says..... This entry ends with a blank, which Dyson presumably intended to fill in later when he could remember the name of the other end of this west African boundary. The settlement of borders was presumably as a result of the end of the 1892-94 Second Franco-Dahomean War.

Tuesday August 7, 1894

Saw Assis^t. Director of Works & M^r Crisp at Adm^y about plans for new Altaz. Building.

M^r G.F. Millin of the Daily news came to enquire about progress of new Altazimuth & other works.

William Christie, Astronomer Royal

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RH says..... Plans and designs for the new building works still rumble on, and clearly were of interest to the press. This journalist was George F. Millin and, according to one of his books, Life in Our Villages (1891), he was the Special Commissioner of the Daily News. He is also described in the catalogue of the National Archives as "a Liberal propagandist for social causes".

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This visit resulted in an article in the Daily News on 23 August 1894 which is very supportive of Christie's attempts to modernise the ROG. It begins "Greenwich Observatory, which at one time was rather discreditably behind several other similar establishments in different parts of the world, is rapidly moving to the front. Mr Christie seems determined that Greenwich shall take its proper place in the front rank, if not in the actual load, in the astronomical world...". Millin approved of the (eventual) willingness of the Admiralty and Treasury to fund the new buildings and instruments and believed that the ROG"little by little is really becoming a splendidly equipped institution" and that they would "make Greenwich Observatory somewhat worthier of its fame, not only in point of efficiency, but in appearance and as a great public institution".

Saturday August 4, 1894

Sir Howard Grubb discussed mounting of 26ⁱⁿ Thompson photo-equatorial. It was arranged that the 30ⁱⁿ reflector should be mounted on other end of decⁿ axis with its axis 6^ft from centre.

William Christie, Astronomer Royal

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RH says..... These telescopes were the ones being paid for by Sir Henry Thompson to be mounted in the re-sited Lassell dome atop the New Physical Observatory. The 30-inch has now evidentally entered the equation, and the scheme has come a long way since Christie referred to the "proposed" 26-inch telescope back in April.

Friday August 3, 1894

M^r Wrigglesworth & M^r Taylor from T. Cooke & Sons came with reference to estimates for new Altaz. Dome & moving & reerecting Lassell dome.

Willilam Christie, Astronomer Royal

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RH says..... The instrument-making firm Thomas Cooke and Sons built both the Lassell and altazimuth domes at Greenwich. The former (pictured) was reused to surmount the New Physical Observatory.

Thursday August 2, 1894

M^r A.G. Fowler came with reference to boundary commission between French & English territory in W. Africa. Advised him to get a Transit instrument similar to that used by Cap^t Grant for moon culminating method.

William Christie, Astronomer Royal

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RH says..... The transit instrument in question was made by Troughton & Simms, and the moon culminating method was used on Christie's advice on this occasion too - the survey of the Anglo-Portuguese boundary in eastern Africa in 1892.

Wednesday August 1, 1894

M^r Deslandres & Comte de la Baume Pluvinel came to see the Observatory and M. Deslandres showed some of his photographs of solar chromosphere (faculæ). M. Pluvinel left two positives of the Eclipse of 1893 at Joal.

William Christie, Astronomer Royal

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RH says..... Deslandres and the Comte de la Baume Pluvinel were well-known figures in French astronomy, working on spectroscopy and photography. In previous decades it was felt that there was little place for these novelties in established national observatories such as Greenwich and Paris and alternative sites were set up, including the Solar Physics Observatory in South Kensington (1878) and Meudon Observatory outside Paris (1875). But it's clear that these were areas in which Christie hope to enhance the reputation of Greenwich, as his New Physical Observatory attests.