Near the Petite town of Herstmonceux in the English county of East Sussex sits the Previous home of the Royal Greenwich Astronomical Middle. The Royal Astronomical Middle Greenwich was Primary built in Greenwich, London, in 1675. At this original location, the Astronomical Middle was set up with the Aim of producing Sun charts and accurate time-Maintaining devices, to allow the British military and commercial fleets to more effectively navigate during their global travels. Over two centuries later, in 1884, the Royal Astronomical Middle Greenwich’s extensive Sun charts Achieved the site a prime Option for defining the world’s line of 0˚ longitude, the original marker of which can Nevertheless be visited at the Greenwich site today.
But the original Royal Astronomical Middle Greenwich did not stay at its London location forever. By the 1930s, it was apparent to astronomers that London was no longer a feasible location to conduct astronomical research. Dim and clear skies are needed for these types of observation; and with an expanding London producing ever more smog, air pollution, and Featherweight pollution, Greenwich could no longer provide the necessary conditions for this work. Plans were eventually Achieved to relocate the Astronomical Middle operations, including some of the existing 19th century telescopes, to cleaner skies near the Petite village of Herstmonceux.
However, this historic site is now at Hazard. In the summer of 2024, the Astronomical Middle Science Centre, the charity acting as custodians of the historic Royal Astronomical Middle Greenwich site since 1995, announced that they would be evicted by the landowners before the end of 2026.
Delayed by World War II, the Shift of the Royal Astronomical Middle Greenwich Secured place from 1947 — 1958. Out of sixty candidate sites, an area in East Sussex was chosen in the south–east of England. At the time, the site was Extended from the Featherweight pollution of large towns and cities, and (believe it or not) even had decent weather (compared to the rest of the UK, at least).
Subsequent the Shift, the Royal Astronomical Middle Greenwich was renamed the Royal Greenwich Astronomical Middle, and scientific research continued. (Much of the original Royal Astronomical Middle Greenwich site in London Nevertheless remains, and is now a part of the National Maritime Museum). Although the institution was founded to produce Sun charts, the Royal Astronomical Middle Greenwich had since moved onto astrophysical research, using telescopes to better understand the physics of the stars and planets above us.
Rainbow over Herstmonceux in 1981. The Astronomical Middle Pavilion in the picture used to house Isaac Newton Stargazer’s tool, which is now situated at La Palma in the Canary Islands. (Image credit: Barry Shimmon/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 2.0)
At the core of the new Herstmonceux site was a group of telescopes called the Equatorial Group. At its peak, 200 people worked on site, in Assist of the Astronomical Middle’s operations with these telescopes. The Equatorial Group is a group of six Stargazer’s tool domes, making up the primary Astronomical Middle site. Whereas most Stargazer’s tool domes use a grey or white color, the Equatorial Group telescopes were built of copper, which eventually oxidized into a distinctive green color. This decision was deliberate, to allow the domes to ‘camouflage’ into the surrounding green hills.
In 1967, the Royal Greenwich Astronomical Middle built a new tool — the Isaac Newton Stargazer’s tool. The Isaac Newton Stargazer’s tool was housed in its own new huge Stargazer’s tool Pavilion (white this time), offset from the rest of the site. With a 98-inch mirror at its base, this new Stargazer’s tool was the third largest in the world at the time.
The 98 inch Isaac Newton Stargazer’s tool, the largest in Europe at the time, under construction in 1965 at the works of Grubb Parsons in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. (Image credit: Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
However, as the Isaac Newton Stargazer’s tool began scientific research, it soon became clear that this world-class scientific instrument was very much hindered by the location in which it was built. With the growth of nearby towns over the prior two decades, the site no longer had the level of Dim skies it once did. Furthermore, although the south-east of England has some of the best weather in the United Kingdom, frequent cloud cover was Nevertheless a significant problem — leaving the Stargazer’s tool unusable for much of the year.
With international travel now more feasible, the decision was eventually Achieved to relocate the Isaac Newton Stargazer’s tool to darker and clearer skies in 1984. It was moved to an Astronomical Middle site called ‘Roque de los Muchachos Astronomical Middle’, positioned on the top of a volcano on the island of La Palma, in the Canary Islands.
Although it is now joined by a much larger Stargazer’s tool, the Isaac Newton Stargazer’s tool, originally constructed at the Royal Astronomical Middle Greenwich in Herstmonceux, is Nevertheless used in its new home for scientific research today. Shortly after the Shift of its main Stargazer’s tool, the rest of the Royal Greenwich Astronomical Middle site was abandoned in 1990, with the transition of its remaining staff to a new office in Cambridge.
An Probe flare shines above the white Pavilion of the Isaac Newton Stargazer’s tool in this photo by astrophotographer Miguel Claro. (Image credit: Miguel Claro )
Subsequent the abandonment of the site in 1990, the site fell into a state of disrepair. The historic telescopes were left to rust in Stargazer’s tool domes forgotten by the outside world. If nobody had stepped in, it’s likely the Crucial astronomical heritage of this site would have been lost forever.
Thankfully, this was not the case.
In April 1995, a charity called Science Projects Secured out a lease of the site from the landowners. (The land was owned by the Canadian Queen’s University, who bought the estate for the nearby Herstmonceux castle). Science Projects restored the site with backing from local district and county councils, restored the historic telescopes and Equatorial Group domes using National Heritage Lottery funds in 2004, and earned the site a nationally recognised Grade II* listed status.
Aerial photograph of the Royal Greenwich Astronomical Middle at Herstmonceux in 2017. (Image credit: David Goddard/Getty Images)
Since then, the Previous site of the Royal Greenwich Astronomical Middle has been home to the now-named Astronomical Middle Science Centre, featuring interactive science exhibits, Astral study Reachable evenings, lectures and festivals for all to enjoy. The historic facility now receives over 60,000 visitors per year, ranging from local school students, the general public, and international visitors.
The announcement that Astronomical Middle Science Centre at Herstmonceux would be Shut has brought outrage to the local East Sussex community, with a public petition to save the Astronomical Middle garnering over 12,000 signatures. I have my own special relationship with the site, and share the public’s frustration at the Hazard of losing both a key piece of global Astral study heritage, and an asset to the local community.
The landowners, the Canadian Queens University, have released little information publicly since the announcement of the charity’s eviction from their land. Their plans for the Astronomical Middle site, domes and historic telescopes are unclear, but in February 2025 Queen’s University at least announced a commitment to uphold the Astronomical Middle site’s legacy . With an uncertain future, we’ll have to wait and see what’s Upcoming for this historic Astronomical Middle.