Saturday December 28, 1894

Discussed with Sir H. Grubb's draughtsman arrangements for new shutter to Astrographic Dome, new Altaz. Dome & base of 26in Photo-Telescope.

William Christie, Astronomer Royal

Wednesday December 19, 1894

M^r Crisp called to discuss new Altaz dome

William Christie, Astronomer Royal

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RH says..... This image shows the dome of the Altazimuth Pavilion today, although it no longer contains Christie's altazimuth telescope, the Universal Transit Circle. The building wasn't completed until 1899 and the weathervane was only put up in 1901. It shows Halley's Comet as depicated in the Bayeux Tapestry, in rememberance of Edmond Halley, the second astronomer royal, and in anticipation of the 1909/10 return of the comet.

Friday November 30, 1894

Col. Wheatley (Bailiff of Parks) called with M^r Jordan (Super^t Greenwich Park) with reference to improvement of west boundary of Obs^y from point of view of Park. He proposed to access[?] portion of garden between existing fence & west wall of Lawn & west side of garden house. I told him that questions of modification of boundary should be considered as a whole & explained to him the modification I should propose round Physical Obs^y and on east side. It was understood that he would raise the question of the alteration of west fence.

Sir H. Thompson dined with me at R.S. anniversary dinner.

William Christie, Astronomer Royal

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D^r Dyson made an observation of the Sun’s Transit across two plumb lines to determine the Meridian line of the New Altazimuth. The result agreed closely with the line obtained by M^r Nash by Magnetic Observations. The two plumb lines were 37^ft apart. The Centre of the Sun & the second limb crossed the line 5^s too soon: giving an error of 2^s. M^r Nash’s line was compared with Col: Tupman’s & agreed well.

Frank Dyson, Chief Assistant

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RH says..... Christie's plans for the Physical Observatory had always required that a small parcel of land from the Royal Park be brought within the Royal Observatory's boundary. His tagging of this issue onto the question of improving the western boundary around Flamsteed House is decidedly sneaky.

30 November, St Andrew's Day, is the anniversary of the Royal Society's foundation in 1660: 2010 (or technically 1 December 2009 to 30 November 2010) will be a celebration of the Society's 350th anniversary.

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Lieutenant Colonel Tupman, mentioned by Dyson, had had a connection with the Royal Observatory in 1874, having organised one of the transit of Venus observing expeditions, but archives from the Observatory in Cambridge show that he continued observing at Hillfoot Observatory in Harrow.

Tuesday November 20, 1894

Three wires of Altazimuth reported broken by M^r Bryant. The plate holding them was sent to Mess^rs Troughton & Simms.

The position wires of the 28ⁱⁿ Micrometer reported broken, by M^r Lewis. M^r Niblett told to repair them.

Frank Dyson, Chief Assistant

Friday October 12, 1894

Sir H. Grubb discussed plans of 26ⁱⁿ Photo-Equatorial & specification for new Altaz dome.

William Christie, Astronomer Royal

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.

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 July 25, 1894

M^r A.N. Wollaston (Assis^t Sec^y India Office) called to enquire about the Photoheliograph for India. I mentioned to him the difficulties about arranging for meetings of Indian Obs^y Com^ee & proposed that there should be a fixed date for the meeting & that a clerk from India Office should act as Sec^y. Letters were written to him subsequently to this effect.

William Christie, Astronomer Royal

RH says..... Christie arranged for identical photoheliograph telescopes to be used in India and Mauritius to fill in gaps of the Greenwich series of sunspot photographs caused by cloudy weather. The Indian Observatory Committee of the Royal Society and Royal Astronomical Society had been set up in 1885 to monitor the efficiency of the Bombay and Madras observatories. In 1897 it was merged with the Observatories Committee.

June 1894

M^r Crommelin reported that the levels of the Altazimuth were very erratic. M^r Crommelin, M^r Niblett & I examined it. The top pivot & bearing of the central axis seemed worn & rusty. Reported it to the Astronomer Royal. – Pivot turned, & new bearings made by Mess^rs Troughton & Simms.

Frank Dyson, Chief Assistant

Visitation Day: Saturday June 2, 1894

Visitation Day

Meeting of Board at 12 noon adjourning about 1.20 for lunch & inspection of Observatory meeting again 3.30 to 4.30.

351 Visitors including 47 ladies – too great a crowd. Former computers &c who ask for a card every year may be struck off next time. Plans of Obs^y & Grounds?? On scale of the lithographed Plan in ‘Greenwich Observations’ to be prepared & put up in prominent posⁿ with places of principal instruments &c marked. Arrangements to be made if possible to admit Visitors in batches only to Ball Lobby, Chronometer Room, Great Equatorial (staircase) & other places where there is likely to be a block. The Altaz. & Sheepshanks might be locked up, only visitors who specially ask to see these instr^s being taken up there. More milk wanted for the chocolate, owing to increase in number of Visitors. Copies of Report to B of V. not received till 1.15. 50 advance copies should be supplied in future for use of B of V. at meeting at noon. Sir Ughtred K. Shuttleworth (Sec^y of Adm^y) went round Observatory.

Dinner at Criterion at 6.30. Only 26 present.

William Christie, Astronomer Royal

Visitation day: 300 visitors including 50 or 60 ladies. There was rather a crush on the staircase leading to the Great Equatorial. The Chronometer room was crowded most of the afternoon. At times the 28 Inch Dome, the Longitude Pavilion, & the new South Wing were crowded. Very few visited the Lassell Dome or the Sheepshanks Equatorial. 30 or 40 went up to the Altazimuth. It will be well to consider whether the doors of the Chronometer room and Great Equatorial had not better be shut when about a dozen people are in the room. The computer in charge of the Water Clock might see to this.

Frank Dyson, Chief Assistant

Sunday May 13 & Monday May 14, 1894

Whitsunday. M^r Common came in afternoon staying till Tuesday, discussing eclipse of 1896, stars photo’s, 28ⁱⁿ O.G., new altaz., dome & building &c. On Monday night examined 13ⁱⁿ Merz telescope on Moon & stars, also photo’s taken with 28ⁱⁿ O.G. We agreed that for the publication of the star map, it would be advisable to begin by having prints from transparencies, which could be purchased singly or by the dozen by any person applying for them, the prints being taken by a photographer at an agreed rate as required, and sold at a price to cover expenses.

William Christie, Astronomer Royal

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RH says..... Andrew Common was an amateur astronomer with a particular interest in photography. He also designed his own innovative instruments and was experienced in making large telescope mirrors. Because of this he supurvised the making of the 30-inch mirror for the ROG's Thompson Photographic Reflector (mounted in 1896). He was an important member of the British scientific community and was a member of the Board of Visitors to the ROG.

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Common was not directly involved with the Carte du ciel mapping project, which Christie refers to here, but because of his innovations in photography had been invited to the original international conference and advised various participants.

Thursday May 10, 1894

M^r Hughes from Director of Stores Depart^t made out his list of Office furniture required for new building South Wing. M^r Simms Jun^r commenced mounting Simms & Cooke Equatorials & Water Telescope in South Wing Basement. Mr McGilicuddy[?] from Doching[?] & Son called about a mistake in no of copies of Astr. Results 1891, the 180 separate copies not having been struck off. I complained to him of the slow rate of printing. Settled [illegible] details of mounting of Spectroscope on 28 inch telescope. Went to meeting of R.S. (Papers on Eclipse of 1893 April 16) & to dinner of R.S. Club.

William Christie, Astronomer Royal

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RH says..... E.Walter Maunder had this to say about the Water Telescope:

"An ingenious telescope was set up by Sir George Airy in order to ascertain if the speed of light were different when passing through water than when passing through air. Or, in other words, if the aberration of light would give the same value as at present if we observed through water. The water telescope, as it was called, is kept on the ground floor of the central octagon of the new observatory. The observations obtained with it were hardly quite satisfactory, but gave on the whole a negative result."

The Royal Society Club was a dining club, for the inner circles of the Royal Society. See Archibald Geikie's 1917 Annals of the Royal Society Club; the record of a London dining-club in the eighteenth & nineteenth centuries for background.

Tuesday May 1, 1894

Went to Troughton & Simms in the afternoon about new Altazimuth (in progress), glass diaphragm with scales at right angles for measure of star photo’s, mounting of spectroscope on Great Equatorial &c. M^r Simms showed me an alloy of platinum (2 parts) & copper (1 part) recommended by Johnson & Matthey as uncorrodible, which he proposed to use for the circle of the new Altazimuth.

William Christie, Astronomer Royal

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RH says..... Christie here refers to the Great Equatorial, which is the name normally associated with the 12.8-inch Merz, installed when George Airy was Astronomer Royal. The 28-inch had replaced this in the ROG's Great Equatorial Building, and Christie evidently transferred the name. Johnson and Matthey, a company that still exists, was a precious metals assayer that had produced the standard weights and measures for the International Metric Commission.

The 28-inch telescope had a half-prism spectroscope, designed by Christie himself, that had to be mounted underneath the telescope - a much larger instrument than the one that the building and mount had originally supported. According to the obituary of Christie by Turner, this half-prism design was pioneering, but the "soundness of its principles has since been questioned".

Thursday April 26, 1894

The Crown lens of the 28.ⁱⁿ was readjusted for tilt. It was found that the ring between the lenses had not been put back when the lens was removed.

Frank Dyson, Chief Assistant
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RH says..... Doh!

On the matter of the photoheliographs raised in the previous post, my colleague Graham Dolan informs me that one of the Dallmeyer photoheliographs was mounted on the 28-inch telescope on 12 October 1883 and removed on 24 April 1894, when it was placed on the south wing of the New Physical Observatory with a new equatorial mounting. This would suggest that when Christie ordered that the photoheliograph be placed on the south wing on 16 March, "at once" meant more than a month.



Part of the confusion about photoheliographs at Greenwich is because there were five identical instruments made for the 1874 transit of Venus expeditions. By 1894 three were floating about Greenwich, often with parts interchanged, and two were on loan - one to the Cape Observatory and one to the Science and Art Department. Most of one of these instruments is today mounted at the ROG in the Altazimuth Pavilion.

Friday March 16, 1894

A Post Office Official (M^r Shaw) called & discussed arrangements for a Wall letter-box to be fixed at the Observatory with collections at 12. 3 & 5, and also for 9 & 11pm. if Park keys could be supplied for use of postmen, It was arranged that the Postmaster of SE. District (D.H. Somerville Esq.) would communicate with me on the subject.
Arranged for Dallmeyer Photoheliograph & Hut to be mounted at once on Terrace roof of S. Wing of Physical Observatory.

William Christie, Astronomer Royal

RH says..... In this image, from about 1900, you can just make out the letter-box in the wall to the left hand side. In front of it, under the small protective shade, are the standard lengths available for the public to check their rulers and to the right of the gate is the 24-hour Shepherd Clock dial, displaying GMT to passers-by. The roof of Flamsteed House, Christie's residence, is bristling with meteorological equipment as well as the time ball, which is raised at 12.58 and drops at 1pm every day.

There is a gap in both journals for the next couple of days - and I am on leave from work - so I will meet you again on the 19th!

Tuesday March 13, 1894

As Post Office official* called to enquire whether postman could have key of Park for evening deliveries of letters. Referred him to Office of Works. Wrote to Sir H. Grubb

*Mr J.J. Foster

William Christie, Astronomer Royal

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RH says..... Those were the days! Several deliveries of mail each day, and the postman making a special effort to ensure that they could be maintained. Meatime, Christie made use of the Post Office's services by communicating with Sir Howard Grubb in Dublin about the 26-inch telescope to be made for the Royal Observatory and paid for by Sir Henry Thompson.

Monday March 12, 1894

Went to Troughton & Simms in the afternoon & inspected Universal Transit Circle in progress.

William Christie, Astronomer Royal

RH says..... The Universal Transit Circle, being manufactured by the instrument makers Troughton & Simms, was Christie's new altazimuth instrument, which he described in an article here. It was to be housed in the Altazimuth Pavilion, designed by William Crisp and still being built at this time. A short history of Troughton & Simms can be see here. They had offices in Fleet Street in central London but, in order to see work in progress, Christie would have gone to their factory on Woolwich Road, Charlton, which borders Greenwich.

Thursday March 8, 1894

Sir Howard Grubb discussed with me plans for proposed 26ⁱⁿ photo-equatorial (Sir. H. Thompson’s). He also examined with me the upper pivot of Great Equatorial which was fitted in some parts along line of bearing of friction rollers & concluded that it might be left alone for the present at any rate.

William Christie, Astronomer Royal

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RH says..... Howard Grubb had taken over his father Thomas's Dublin-based Grubb Telescope Company (later Grubb, Parsons and Co.) on the latter's death in 1878. He was recognised as a world-class telescope-maker and designed Greenwich's 28-inch telescope and Astrographic Telescope as well as the telescopes donated by Henry Thompson, including the 26-inch that Christie had ordered on 14 February. The Great Equatorial was an older telescope, now in its fourth decade and relegated to the role of finder telescope. However, I think that Christie was here referring to the 28-inch: the Obervatory's new "great equatorial" and mounted, as it is today, in the Great Equatorial Building of the Royal Observatory.

Thursday March 1, 1894

Wrote to Adm^y forwarding letter from Sir H. Thompson (received yesterday) offering £5000 for a large photo-equatorial to be presented to the Obs^y. M^r Dyson entered on his duties (as Chief Assistant) this morning. Reported this to Adm^y.

Went to Sandwich this evening.

William Christie, Astronomer Royal

Began work as Chief Assistant.The Astronomer Royal went away in the evening till Sunday Evening. March 4.

Frank Dyson, Chief Assistant

IYA's UK launch today

RH says.....
Today sees the official UK launch of the International Year of Astronomy, here at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. During the evening I will be based in the South Building's Endeavour Room - which is, in fact, the Lassell Dome, surmounting what was once known as the New Physical Observatory. It has changed a bit since the 1890s, but spot the telltale porthole windows....

In the dome of the New Physical Observatory: an observer with his eye to the Great Equatorial telescope, mounted on two of the telescopes donated by Sir Henry Thompson, the 26-inch refractor and 9-inch photoheliograph.

In the dome today: the Endeavour Room of the South Building.