Orwell Park Observatory.
Colonel George Tomline.
John Macvicar Anderson.
Wilfrid Airy.
John Isaac Plummer.
Edward Howard Collinson.
Orwell Astronomical Society (Ipswich)
Support Restoration of Orwell Park Observatory
Orwell Park Observatory.
Colonel George Tomline.
John Macvicar Anderson.
Wilfrid Airy.
John Isaac Plummer.
Edward Howard Collinson.
Orwell Park Observatory is unique: it is the only instance in the UK of a functioning Victorian observatory, attached to a private mansion, complete with working instrumentation still in regular use. Unfortunately, the facility is now urgently in need of major restoration work, which its owners lack the means to undertake. This page summarises the history and current staus of the observatory and enables you to contribute towards its restoration.
The founder of the observatory, Colonel George Tomline (1813-89), constructed the facility during work to extend and remodel his mansion. He spared no expense, engaging John Macvicar Anderson (1835-1915), later chairman of the Royal Institution of British Architects (RIBA), as architect, and Wilfrid Owen (1836-1925), son of the Astronomer Royal, Sir George Biddell Airy, as design engineer responsible for specification of the scientific instruments. Tomline specified that the facility be built to the highest of standards and it is testament to the care and resources that he lavished upon its construction that the building survives to the present day.
Tomline's observatory became operational in early 1874 after he recruited a professional astronomer, John Isaac Plummer, FRAS (1845-1925), to run it on his behalf. Plummer worked for Tomline for 16 years; this period marked the heyday of the observatory.
Unfortunately, the fabric of the building has deteriorated significantly since the era of Tomline and Plummer, a trend which can be traced through the historical record. Tomline died in 1889 and his heir, Captain Ernest Pretyman, had no interest in astronomy and did not appreciate the potential of the observatory. In 1930, an amateur astronomer living in Ipswich, Edward Howard Collinson, FRAS (1903-90), obtained permission from Pretyman to use the observatory. His observing notes, held in the archive of the British Astronomical Association (BAA), indicate that the observatory was in a good state of repair at this time. (Collinson went on to become president of the BAA 1952-54.) In 1931, Pretyman died and the estate passed to his son, George, who, unfortunately, shared his father's indifference towards astronomy. Finding himself in straightened financial circumstances, George sold Orwell Park Mansion to Aldeburgh Lodge School in 1936 and the School moved in (changing its name to Orwell Park School) in 1937. The first headmaster of the newly-relocated school, Mr N H Wilkinson, subsequently reported that, at this time, the lift and telescope were in good working order. The Army occupied Orwell Park during WWII and caused considerable damage. When the school returned in 1946, Wilkinson found that the telescope had been damaged, the hydraulic lift rendered unsafe and most of the eyepieces were missing. Although the school subsequently made use of the observatory, it was not in a position to undertake significant maintenance and, as a result, the decline in the fabric of the building continued apace.
The Ipswich & District Astronomical Society (IDAS) formed on 21 January 1950. Members of IDAS undertook a variety of astronomical pursuits and were occasional users of Orwell Park Observatory. In May - September 1952, they undertook repairs and redecoration of the observatory. Details of what was achieved at this time have been lost, but the efforts of IDAS appear to have done little to stem the deterioration in the condition of the building.
OASI formed in the late 1960s, by which time, following years of neglect, the state of disrepair of the observatory was very serious indeed. A few years later (the exact date is unclear), the Anglia Television Bygones programme filmed a short report, available from YouTube, about the observatory which captured the shocking state of the interior. The building was essentially derelict: walls were crumbling, doors missing, the telescope mount rusting, and starlings nesting in a cavity in the dome shutter. As a result, during the first decade or so of its existence, OASI expended more energy renovating the observatory than using the telescope for astronomy! Through sustained efforts, the Society was able to slow the decline in many areas of the fabric of the building, and restore much of the interior to its original glory.
However, by the mid-2000s, it had become painfully apparent that the scale of maintenance work required was far beyond the capabilities of OASI and that significant professional intervention was required. Around this time, Orwell Park Educational Trust, owner of the observatory and parent body of Orwell Park School, also became increasingly concerned about the magnitude of the restoration task. As an initial step, in 2004, the Trust commissioned a report by steeplejacks providing a baseline assessment of the state of the building.
In late 2009, members of OASI met with personnel from the School to discuss how to tackle jointly the matter of renovating the observatory; the meeting turned out to be the first of many. As the dialogue between the parties progressed, other specialists were invited to participate, including Dr Allan Chapman, Honorary President of OASI and Chairman of the Society for the History of Astronomy (SHA), the late Peter Hingley, former Librarian of the Royal Astronomical Society, Peregrine Bryant, architecture and building conservation architect, Trevor Groom of Press & Starkey Quantity Surveyors and others.
The cost of arresting the deterioration of the building was estimated as £500,000, a sum which the owners could not begin to finance. Initial efforts therefore focussed on upgrading the listing of the observatory building (in recognition of its unique nature) by English Heritage from Grade II to Grade II*, the intent being to open additional sources of restoration funding. Unfortunately, by 2012, efforts at upgrading the listing did not succeed although, in recognition of the importance of the observatory, the entry for the School was changed from "Orwell Park School" to "Orwell Park School and Observatory".
After several years of minimal success in attracting funding for restoration, in 2021 the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded Orwell Park Educational Trust a donation to make the observatory "Covid secure" (in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic). After the costs of implementing "Covid secure" measures, some of the award remained and, by pooling the remains with a donation from OASI and other contributions, the Trust was able to afford to replace three of the massive balcony doors on the belvedere which were suffering badly from rot. Although this was a very welcome development, it represents only a minimal measure in terms of arresting the overall deterioration of the building.
As of the mid 2020s, the areas in need of most urgent renovation are as follows. Winter rain and ice has caused extensive damage and spalling to external brickwork and stonework. The large architectural scrolls adorning the balconies have lost some of their carvings. Settling of the building has caused hairline cracks to open in the structure and, most worryingly, several large fractures and numerous open stone joints. The remaining two original balcony doors off the belvedere, and most of the window frames, are in a very poor state, suffering from very serious rot. The dome atop the building too is in need of renovation: the structural steel ribs, defining the hemispherical shape, are corroded at their bases, where they join the cast iron ring at the bottom of the structure. The building is no longer watertight during heavy rainstorms.
OASI has established the 582 Fund to attract donations towards restoration work. The name is taken from the International Astronomical Union (IAU) code for the observatory. Please consider donating via the Paypal button below or feel free to contact us by email if you can assist with fund raising in any way: info@oasi.org.uk.
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