An Historical Account of Armagh Observatory
by
J.L.E. Dreyer PhD
THE Armagh Observatory was founded in the year 1791 by
Richard Robinson, Baron Rokeby,
Archbishop of Armagh, the great benefactor of the city of Armagh. This generous Primate
had already, in 1778, founded and endowed a
Public Library in Armagh, and during the last
years of his life he was anxious to assist in founding an University for Ulster - a
project which was, however, not carried out, owing to the restriction of five years
within which the University should be founded in order to enjoy the endowment of £5,000
left it by the Primate's will.
The founding of the Observatory was probably connected with this plan of an
University, but the Primate was also much influenced by the circumstance of there being
in the diocese of Armagh an amateur Astronomer of sufficient energy and experience to
take charge of the new institution. The Rev. James Archibald Hamilton, D.D., Rector of
Kildress, County Tyrone,{
1} was an enthusiastic observer of the heavens, as his
observations made at Cookstown, of the transit of the planet Mercury across the Sun in
1782, and other celestial phenomena, could testify.{
2} He was accordingly by the Primate
appointed the first Astronomer of the observatory on July 81, 1790, and twenty acres of
land, situated at the North-eastern outskirts of the City of Armagh (being on the Estate
of the See of Armagh), were selected as the site of the buildings and for the use of the
Astronomer. On April the 5th, 1791, the Primate vested the management of the institution
in the Archbishop, the Dean, and the members of the Chapter of the Cathedral of Armagh
for the time being, as ex-officio Governors and Guardians, in whom, together with two
co-opted Governors, the Observatory and its endowment was vested for ever. As an
endowment for the Astronomer the Primate gave the townland of Derrynaught, in the county
of Armagh, and in the same year the Irish Parliament sanctioned this gift and the
organization of the
Board of Governors by passing "
An Act for Settling and Preserving a
Public Observatory and Museum in the City of Armagh for ever"{
3}. The contents of this
Act may be summarized as follows:-
The Observatory, its buildings and grounds, instruments, and other belongings, as
also the endowment of land and other property of any kind whatsoever, which might in
course of time be given to the institution, are vested in the Governors and Guardians
above mentioned, who are created a corporation for receiving all gifts and grants
presented to the institution, and for drawing up such rules and regulations for the
management thereof as they may think necessary. The power of nominating and appointing
the Astronomer is reserved to the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ireland for the
time being, the Board of Governors having the power of suspending or even dismissing the
Astronomer in case he should refuse to observe their rules or orders. The appointment of
the Astronomer is not valid unless he, at the next meeting of the Board, produces a
certificate from the Astronomer Royal of England of his due qualification for the office,
and gives to the Governors and Guardians security to the amount of £500 by reocognizance
with two sufficient securities, "that none of the several particulars given or bestowed,
or hereafter to be given and bestowed on the said Observatory or Museum, shall be lost or
otherwise embezzled." He is also required to take an oath before the Primate that he will
not suffer any of the said particulars to be lent or embezzled. The Governors are
annually on the day preceding or next after the Visitation of the Diocese to visit and
inspect the Observatory.
As already mentioned, Primate Robinson gave as an endowment for the Astronomer
twenty acres of land close to Armagh, on which the Observatory is built, and the estate
of Derrynaught, which he had bought out of his private means. In order to provide for the
salary of an Assistant (to be appointed by the Astronomer) and the current expenses of
the Observatory, the Primate furthermore endowed the same with a Lease for Twenty one
Years of the Rectorial Tithes of the Parish of Carlingford, and of certain lands
belonging to the See of Armagh (partly in County Tyrone and partly in County Louth).
These leases were renewed every year at a nominal fine, and might practically be regarded
as a perpetuity.
A spacious dwelling house was erected, having a dome 14 feet in diameter, on the
middle of the south side, and a transit-room attached to the east. Being on the top of a
hill, about a hundred feet over the surrounding country, there is an extensive view from
the house. Dr. Hamilton, who in the meantime had been transferred to the living of
Mullabrack, about six miles from Armagh, took up his residence at the Observatory, and
several instruments were ordered at the Primate's expense. Unfortunately, the generous
founder died on the 10th of October, 1794,{
4} and two instruments ordered from Ramsden (a
transit instrument and a meridian circle) were countermanded by Primate Robinson's heirs,
so that the Observatory only obtained a large
equatoreal by Troughton, and three clocks.
The equatoreal, which is described in Rees' Cyclopedia, arrived in December, 1795, and
was mounted under the dome on two stone piers resting on a massive pillar, round which
the staircase of the dwelling-house winds. By its maker this instrument was expected to
supply results as accurate as those obtained by meridian instruments - an expectation
which it is needless to say was not fulfilled. It is mounted in the English manner. There
is no polar axis, but the Right Ascension Circle (4 feet in diameter) is attached to the
polar pivots by four stays. The declination circle is of the same size and is similarly
attached by stays to two pivots, which turn in Y's fastened to the R A Circle. The
object-glass of the telescope has an aperture of 2.5 inches. There are two microscopes,
east and west, mounted on iron stands, for the purpose of reading the R A Circle. Of the
three clocks two were furnished by Thomas Earnshaw, of London, and one of them in
particular is
an unusually good instrument.{
5} It has been in incessant use since it was
put up in 1794, and was in 1880 further improved by Dr. Robinson by the attachment of a
mercurial pendulum, to which two years later was added a pair of compensating barometers
in order to counteract the influence of the height of the barometer on the clock rate.
This was a very decided improvement and the action of the clock is still unusually
good.{
6}
The Transit Instrument not having been received, as already stated, a watchmaker
in Armagh constructed one for Dr. Hamilton - of course only making a poor substitute for
what Ramsden would have produced. With this instrument observations of the Sun, Moon, and
Standard Stars were commenced in July, 1798, by Dr. Hamilton and his Assistant.{
7}
Nothing was ever published of these observations (which were continued up to the time the
instrument was dismounted, in 1827) except some observations of Moon culminating Stars
made between 1795 and 1804, and a number of differences of Right Ascension of pairs of
stars observed in 1802 and 1803 at Greenwich and Armagh on the same night, and intended
to prove the accuracy of the Armagh results.{
8} With a
42-inch refractor, by Dollond, Dr.
Hamilton also made a series of measures of the Sun's apparent diameter in 1794-95, in
order to test the relative accuracy of a wire-micrometer and an " object-glass
micrometer," both by Dollond.{
9} The Equatoreal was employed partly for miscellaneous
observations, and partly for determining the Declinations of 37 Standard Stars, the
results being published by Mr. Pond in the Philo8. Transactions for 1806, pp.
453-4.54.{
10}
Dr. Hamilton, who, in addition to his other offices, held the dignity of Dean of
Cloyne from 1804, died on the 21st November, 1815, and was succeeded as Astronomer at
Armagh by the Rev. William Davenport, Senior Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin, and
formerly Professor of Natural Philosophy. During his term of office the Transit
Instrument continued to be used by Mr. Hogg. Dr. Davenport died on the 26th July, 1823,
and a few weeks later the Primate, Lord John George Beresford, appointed the Rev.
Thomas
Romney Robinson, Rector of Enniskillen, to the vacant post. The following year Dr.
Robinson exchanged the living of Enniskillen for that of Carrickmacross, in the diocese
of Clogher (also a college living) which he continued to hold till his death,{
11} but he
always resided at the Armagh Observatory. When Dr. Robinson took charge of the
Observatory, its equipment was the same as in 1795, the two immediate successors of
Primate Robinson having taken no interest in the promotion of science, and the endowment
of the Observatory not being sufficient to defray the expense of buying instruments. Dr.
Robinson set himself to work at once to ascertain the state of the instruments, but found
that the Transit was not capable of furnishing any useful results, while the Equatoreal,
though its performance was good, could only find very limited application.{
12} Happily,
the Primate, Lord John George Beresford, on having the case represented to him, ordered
immediately, with that munificence of which Armagh possesses so many proofs, that the
requisite instruments should be procured without limitation of price. Accordingly a
Transit Instrument and a
Mural Circle were ordered from Jones, of London, and
considerable additions were made to the buildings to make room for the new instruments.
The transit room was continued towards the east by another meridian room (for the
circle), and east of that again a tower was built, surmounted by a revolving dome, under
which a ten feet Newtonian by Sir W. Herschel was placed on a stone-pier. The north side
of the tower bears the inscription:-"For the advancement of Science, erected by John
George, Archbishop of Armagh, 1827." In 1832 a computing room and library was built in
the south-east corner between the dwelling house and the passage to the transit room, and
in 1848 a polishing room was built to the south of the east tower.
The Transit Instrument was mounted in the Autumn of 1827. It has an aperture of 3.75
inches, and a focal length of 63 inches. The Mural Circle arrived towards the end of
1831. Its diameter is 56 inches, and its telescope (used till 1860) was a duplicate of
that of the Transit. These two instruments have been so fully described by Dr.
Robinson{
13} that it will not be necessary to enter into further particulars here. The
ten-feet reflector was in 1835 superseded by a
reflector (to be used either in the
Newtonian or the Cassegrain form) of 15 inches aperture and nine feet focal length, which
was made by Th. Grubb, and equatoreally mounted (with clock movement) under the East
dome.{
14} These were the instruments with which Dr. Robinson for a number of years
worked most assiduously, and with which the results embodied in the well-known Armagh
Catalogue of Stars were produced. The chief object was to re-determine the positions of
the stars observed by Bradley about the middle of last century, to which towards the
close of the work a number of other stars (principally from Lalande's catalogue) were
added. Up to March, 1837, all the observations were made by Dr. Robinson. He then handed
over the Transit Instrument to the newly-appointed assistant, Mr. Neil M'Neil Edmondson,
and continued himself to observe with the Mural Circle up to March, 1850. In addition to
the observations for the Star-Catalogue several special investigations were entered on,
particularly the determination of the Longitude of the Observatory by chronometers,
rocket signals, and other methods,{
15} and a rigorous investigation of the law of
refraction as deduced from observations with the Mural Circle.{
16} While it was easy
enough to get papers on such special subjects published by learned societies, it was a
more difficult matter to provide for the publication of the great mass of current
observations. Through the ever ready liberality of the Primate the original observations
with all details for the years 1828, 1829, and 1830 were printed,{
17} but after 1832 many
of the clergy of the Established Church were, in consequence of the Tithe Agitation, for
a time reduced to great distress, and Dr. Robinson considered that there were more urgent
claims on the Primate's generosity, so that the publication of the Armagh Observations
was intermitted. Various attempts were made from time to time to obtain assistance from
the Government, but without success unti1 1850, when the Royal Society (then under the
presidency of the Earl of Rosse) voted a sum out of the amount placed annually at its
disposal by the Government "for the furthering of scientific objects. Though the sum
voted was not sufficient to defray the cost of printing the great mass of observations,
it was possible to publish the single results of each observation for every star, and the
work of preparing these for the press was at once commenced. As this involved a
considerable amount of labour, and it was still necessary to observe a number of stars,
Dr. Robinson, in August, 1850, engaged as his private assistant Mr. W. H. Rambaut, and
handed over the Mural Circle to him. Even with this addition to the staff, the task of
observing, computing, and reading of proofs was not finished before 1859, when the work
was published in a large octavo volume of more than 900 pages. The title is - Places of
5,845 Stars observed from 1828 to 1854 at the Armagh Observatory. By Rev. T. R. Robinson,
D.D., F.R.S., &c., Dublin, 1859," (lxvii. and 847 pp.). The work contains first a very
full account of the instruments and the methods of observing and reducing, next follow
the separate results for the place of every star observed, and finally a catalogue of the
resulting mean positions for the beginning of the year 1840, with the data necessary for
reducing them to any other epoch.
This work, commonly known as the Armagh Catalogue, is of great value, and is one of the
Star Catalogues in everyday use among Astronomers, either when comparison stars are
wanted for observations of planets and comets, or when Proper Motions of stars are being
investigated. It is as yet the principal work produced at the Armagh Observatory, and
considering the small staff attached to the institution, it remains a testimony of the
untiring energy and perseverance of the late Astronomer and his assistants. In 1862 the
Royal Society presented Dr. Robinson with a Royal medal in recognition of the excellence
of the work.
Already long before the publication of the Catalogue was finished, Dr. Robinson had
turned his attention to the question of selecting a new field for the observations. In
1840 the Observatory had acquired a considerable number of old instruments formerly
belonging to the private Observatory of George III. at Kew, and presented by Her Majesty
the Queen. Among these was one with which it was at first believed that good results
could be obtained, viz., a Zenith Sector of 12 feet focal length and 4.25 inches
aperture, and with his wonted liberality the Primate had a square tower (with flat and
partly sliding roof) built over the eastern part of the Transit-room, and the Sector
mounted in it on a solid stand of cast iron (1841). It was unfortunately found that the
combination of wood and metal in the construction of the Sector was very detrimental to
its performance. The instrument, which would have required to have been entirely
re-constructed, has thus never been used. It was dismounted in 1882, and suspended on the
walls of the "Sector Tower;" where also the other instruments from Kew, some of which
possess great historical interest, are preserved.{
18}
Being unable to utilise these instruments, and finding that the limited aperture of the
two meridian instruments placed obstacles in the way of observing the fainter stars,
which it every day became more important to attend to, Dr. Robinson already in 1848
formed the plan of converting the Mural Circle into a Transit Circle, by adding to it a
second axis supported on a pier, and substituting a telescope of larger aperture for the
old one of 3.75 inches diameter. The pressure of the amount of work incidental to the
publication of the great catalogue prevented, however, the matter from being looked into,
but after the publication of the catalogue, and when Lord John Beresford again provided
the necessary means, the plan was carried out. A new telescope of about the same focal
length as the old one, but of seven inches aperture, was made by Mr. Thomas Grubb, of
Dublin, and attached to the Circle (without adding a second pier), and two small
collimators were mounted in the same room on iron pillars, north and south of the Circle.
The improvements were finished in 1862, the same year which witnessed the death of the
generous restorer of the Observatory, without whom Primate Robinson's plans would have
been but very imperfectly carried out.{
19}
The improved Mural Circle was at once brought into use, though not very extensively for
some time, owing to the failing health of the Assistant, Mr. Edmondson. He died in July,
1864, and was succeeded by the Rev. W. H. Rambaut, who had already from 1850 for about
ten years assisted in the observations and reductions. A new series of observations of
stars selected from those observed by Lalande at the close of the last century was now
commenced, and in 1865 Dr. Robinson purchased and presented to the Observatory an
electric chronograph for registering the transits, which proved of great value in
increasing the accuracy of the work, especially after the clock movement had been altered
by Mr. Grubb in 1868. The observations have been continued up to the present moment, when
upwards of 3,000 stars have been observed, the greater part from three to five times.
Most of the observations have been taken by the Rev. Charles Faris, M.A., L.C.E., who
succeeded Mr. Rambaut as Assistant in September, 1868.{
20}
We are not able in this short notice to dwell on the many other investigations on
subjects connected with Physics and Meteorology, which Dr. Robinson had from time to time
engaged in, or his frequent services on committees appointed by the Royal Society or the
British Association, which have produced many results of permanent value. We shall only
allude to the great
Melbourne Reflector, in planning and constructing which he had a
great share. The
Anemometer which bears his name was first put up on the roof in 1846,
but meteorological observations had already been commenced in 1833 and regularly
continued. In 1867, when the Board of Trade decided to establish seven first-class
meteorological stations throughout the British Islands, where complete sets of
self-recording instruments {working by photography) should be in action day and night
without interruption, Armagh was selected as one of the stations. A small house was built
to the east of the Tower at the expense of the Board of Trade, and the work was regularly
commenced in May, 1868, the observer {Mr. S. Call) having been appointed by Dr. Robinson.
This department has been continued since then, superintended by the Director of the
Armagh Observatory, at the expense of the Meteorological Council, by whom the results are
also published. It will, however, be discontinued on December 31, 1883, the Council
intending only to keep up the stations at Kew, Aberdeen, and Valencia.
While thus the Observatory was still the scene of continued activity, a very serious loss
was inflicted on it by the Disestablishment of the Irish Church in 1869. The effect of
the Act for this purpose was to prevent the renewal of the leases, which hitherto had
always been renewed without fine by the Primate for the time being. While the Irish
Church Act was before the House of Commons, an attempt was made by the Right Hon. J. T.
Ball, Member for Dublin University, and one of the Governors of the Armagh Observatory,
to obtain compensation for the loss about to be inflicted on the institution, but this
met with a refusal from the head of the Government. In the House of Lords, Earl Stanhope
moved an amendment to the same effect, but withdrew it in consequence of a statement from
Lord Dufferin, that the Government "would at the proper time be quite prepared to
consider any claim which might be preferred on its behalf."{
21} The subsisting Lease of
the Rectorial Tithes of Carlingford was ultimately (in 1873) purchased from the Governors
by the Commissioners of Church Temporalities for the sum of £2,277 15s. 9d., being merely
its value, supposing no renewal, but as the Commissioners on the other hand had no power
to renew the leases of the Church lands of Tullynure and Busky, the perpetuity of these
leases had to be purchased from the Commissioners at a cost of £1,081 2s. 5d., reducing
the capital of the Observatory to £1,246 13s. 4d. Thus the annual income of the
Observatory (from which the Assistant is paid and contingent expenses met), which had
hitherto been about £216 (£106 from rent of the lands and £109 16s. 10.5d from the
tithes), became reduced by about £60.
But this was not the only loss to the institution caused by the Church Act. Not only is
it now no longer possible for the Astronomer, in addition to his moderate income (which
in consequence of the Land Act of 1881 will certainly be reduced considerably), to hold a
college living, but the liberality of the Archbishop of Armagh, which formerly might
confidently be counted on in cases of emergency, can never more be appealed to, as future
Primates can expect only a very moderate income. In 1874 a memorial was presented to Mr.
Disraeli, calling attention to the fact that the Observatory, without having cost the
nation one penny, might rank with the best national Institutions, but that its resources
were seriously reduced by the Act of 1869. The memorial received for answer that the time
had not yet come for considering the question. Of course so long as the Astronomer was
Dr. Robinson, who had besides the income of a valuable benefice, the matter was not so
pressing as it has now become.
On the 28th of February, 1882, Dr. Robinson died, having almost reached the age of
ninety, and having held the post of Astronomer of the Armagh Observatory for more than
fifty-eight years. As it has been shown in the foregoing pages, he found the Observatory
almost destitute of Instruments and comparatively unknown; he left it having acquired for
it an honoured name by the well-planned and extensive series of observations embodied in
the Armagh Catalogue, as well as by his numerous other publications. Though he was during
the last twenty years of his life unable to take active part in the observations, his
enthusiasm for science was unabated to the last, as his elaborate experiments to
determine the constants of the Cup-Anemometer, invented by himself, can testify. The
results of these researches are contained in two memoirs in the Philosophical
Transactions for 1878 and 1880.
A few months after Dr. Robinson's death the Primate appointed
J. L. E. Dreyer, Ph.D.,
Assistant Astronomer at the Observatory of Trinity College, editor of Copernicus, an
International Journal of Astronomy, and formerly (1874-78) Astronomer to the Earl of
Rosse, to the vacant post. Owing to the extensive repairs which had to be made in the
dwelling-house, Dr. Dreyer was unable to take up residence in the Observatory till August
31.
The present state of the instruments may be summarised as follows:- In addition to the
clocks and the chronograph the only instruments capable of producing anything like good
results are the Mural Circle and the 15-inch Equatoreal Reflector. Of these the Mural
Circle, even with the improvement carried out in 1862, is quite out of date as to
construction. It is true that in careful hands it produces star-places not much inferior
to those found by more modern instruments, and it may be confidently asserted that the
Catalogue of 3,000 Stars, which is now in course of preparation for the press, will be of
value.{
22} But, considering the circumstance that nearly every Observatory now possesses
a Transit Circle of modern construction, it seems of little use to continue beyond the
close of the present series to observe with this instrument. To try to improve it does
not appear advisable, as a reconstruction of it, in order to be thoroughly efficient,
would cost nearly as much as a new Transit Circle; but the fine seven-inch telescope
belonging to the instrument might be employed with more profit, either mounted as an
Equatoreal or as a Meridian Zone Instrument for differential observations of very faint
stars. The 15-inch Reflector only wants to be polished in order to become a useful
instrument (even in its present state it furnished a good observation of the Transit of
Venus on December 6, 1882{
23}), and if an electric control was added to the clock movement
the instrument would become very serviceable for celestial photography - very promising
field of work. An equatoreally-mounted Refractor of at least six inches aperture is very
much needed for micrometrical work, the largest Refractor available at present having
only 3.8 inches aperture. An application has, therefore, been addressed to the Admiralty
asking for the loan of one of the six-inch Refractors recently employed on the Transit of
Venus Expeditions.
Unfortunately the funds of the Observatory, as described above, are barely sufficient for
unavoidable current expenses, but there is no provision for improving the instrumental
equipment.
There is an excellent scientific Library in the Observatory, indebted to Dr. Robinson for
many and most valuable gifts.
APPENDIX.
THE DEBATE IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS ON THE 9TH JULY. 1869, ON CLAUSE 69 OF THE IRISH CHURCH ACT.
(From
Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, 3rd Series, vol. cxcvii. [4th vol. of Session 1868-69], cols. 1490-1493.
EARL STANHOPE proposed after clause 69 to insert clause:-" Whereas the Trustees of the
Observatory at Armagh hold a lease of the rectorial tithes of the parish of Carlingford,
customarily renewable by the See of Armagh, and under the provisions of this Bill such
lease will cease to be renewable, and the aforesaid scientific institution be deprived of
a portion of the annual income available for its support, it is hereby provided that the
Commissioners shall pay to the Trustees of the said Institution such sum as shall appear
to them to be a fair compensation for the loss of the said customary right of renewal."
The noble Earl said, the Observatory was founded in 1791, and had ever since that time,
through the liberality of the successive Irish Primates, been allowed a renewal of the
lease of these tithes without fine. It did great honour to Ireland, being the only
Observatory in Ireland, with the exception of that erected by the late Lord Rosse ;{
24}
and in Committee the noble Lord (Lord Talbot de Malahide), than whom no man was better
acquainted with its merits, bore emphatic testimony to its services. He had not named any
specific sum, those interested in the institution being quite willing to leave this to
the judgement of the Commissioners, who were entitled to the fullest confidence.
Notwithstanding the good intention expressed on the last occasion by the noble Lord (Lord
Dufferin) on the part of the Government, it would be more satisfactory if the Bill
contained a distinct recognition of its claims, in the event of its not being entitled,
under other clauses, to a continuance of the advantages it had hitherto enjoyed.
LORD DUFFERIN said that further inquiry had confirmed his belief that this endowment
emanated solely from the private benevolence of successive Primates, and that it had no
legal claim under this Bill. He could only repeat, therefore, that he fully recognized
the great services it had rendered to the country, and that the Government would, at the
proper time, be quite prepared to consider any claim which might be preferred on its
behalf. If it could make out a title to a customary lease, the noble Earl's object would
be gained; but otherwise it would be difficult to treat this case exceptionally by
recognizing a claim which had no valid title.
THE EARL OF ROSSE said that having for many years been acquainted with the gentleman who
presided over this Observatory, he could speak in the highest terms of his scientific
attainments and services. The Irish Church, as he understood, was to be disestablished
and disendowed on account of its being the church of a small minority of the Irish
people, but for that very reason this institution ought to be maintained, since it
benefited the whole Irish people and the cause of science generally. He hoped, therefore,
that the Government would accede to the clause.
EARL GRANVILLE said that the noble Earl's remarks must have been acceptable to their
Lordships, since he believed he had a personal as well as hereditary right to speak on
behalf of any scientific institution. The only objection to the clause was that, whatever
the claims of the Observatory, they ought to be met not in this Bill, but in another
manner.
THE EARL OF HARROWBY said he hoped so excellent an institution would not be allowed to
sink into obscurity or become impoverished. The Bill originally provided for the
maintenance of the Irish cathedrals on account of their architectural and historical
interest; and it was not unreasonable to provide for this institution as a relic of the
liberality of the Irish Church towards science.
THE DUKE OF SOMERSET said he thought this Observatory should be maintained in the same
way as the Institution at Greenwich. The money ought not to be taken out of the property
of the Irish Church, but out of the Parliamentary vote for Science and Art.
LORD REDESDALE remarked that as it had been proposed to apply the surplus to the relief
of the county cess, there was no reason why a small sum should not go to the relief of
public taxation, and to an institution which would be a monument of the liberality of the
Irish Church to science during the time it was allowed to retain its property.
EARL DE GREY AND RIPON said that if the Observatory had a legal claim it would not be
interfered with by the Bill, and urged that otherwise it ought not to be recognized in
this Bill. The noble Duke's (the Duke of Somerset's) suggestion would have the
consideration of the Government.
THE EARL OF CLANCARTY pressed for a distinct pledge from the Government to protect the
Observatory from loss.
LORD CAIRNS said he did not think the Observatory could, in point of law, sustain a claim
to a customary renewal of this lease. He hoped he had not misunderstood the noble Lord
(Lord Dufferin) in concluding that the Government were quite alive to the loss which the
Observatory would sustain by the loss of an estate granted by the liberality of various
Primates, and would consider favourably its claim for compensation. In Parliamentary
language, they would be prepared to submit a Vote in the estimates for maintaining the
Observatory in as good a position as hitherto, and he thought their Lordships should be
content with that pledge.
EARL DE GREY AND RIPON said he had given no pledge, but had simply stated that the
Government would consider the question.
LORD CAIRNS explained that this remark had reference to the noble Lord {Lord Dufferin ).
EARL STANHOPE said, he feared that "consideration" was too vague a word.
LORD TAUNTON said, he thought the Government had given a sufficient assurance, and
remarked that the Irish Members of the House of Commons would be very well able to ask
for the requisite Vote.
THE LORD CHANCELLOR objected to the recital, as affirming the existence of a lease
customarily renewable, of which no proof had been given. If, however, this was the fact,
the Observatory was already sufficiently provided for. He did not wish to throw cold
water on its claims, for he had been told by the President of the Royal Society that no
Observatory in the world had been more useful to science.
LORD CAIRNS said he thought the Bill would not in any case provide for the Observatory,
for it recognized rights of renewal as to lands only, and not as to tithes, which,
indeed, would be extinguished at the end of fifty-two years. Through feelings of
liberality the lease had been renewed annually without fine, but there was no legal
obligation.
EARL STANHOPE said, he was willing to amend the recital, but he was reluctant to withdraw
the clause in the absence of a more distinct assurance from the Government.
EARL GREY
said, he thought the claims of the Observatory might safely be intrusted to the Irish
Members of the House of Commons.
THE EARL OF PORTARLINGTON wished for a more distinct pledge.
EARL STANHOPE said, he felt himself in a difficult position, being charged with the
interest of others; but having taken the advice of those round him, and trusting that the
favourable consideration promised by the Government signified an intention to propose a
grant, he would withdraw the clause.
Amendment (by leave of the House) withdrawn.
Footnotes
{1} Born about 1748, entered Trinity College, Dublin, Nov. 1, 1764, and graduated B.A. in 1769, B.D. and D.D. in 1784.
{2} Philosophical Transactions, 1783;
Transactions of the R. Irish Academy. Vol. i, pp. 23 and 29.
{3} Irish Statutes, 31st George III., ch. 46.
{4} Richard Robinson was descended from the Robinsons of Rokeby, in Yorkshire,
and came over as chaplain to the Duke of Dorset in 1751. He became Archbishop of Armagh in 1765. In 1777 he was created Baron Rokeby, in the Peerage of Ireland.
{5} Earnshaw's An Appeal to the Public, stating his claim to a national reward
(London, 1808, 8vo.), contains four testimonials from Dr. Hamilton as to the excellence of the Armagh clock.
{6} The clock and its performance are fully described by Dr. Robinson in the
Armagh Catalogue of Stars, p. xviii. and seq., comp.
Memoirs of the Royal. Astron. Soc., vol. v., pp.125-134. .
{7} In May, 1793 Dr. Hamilton appointed Mr. Palmer his assistant, allowing
him to continue his studies at Cambridge. He resigned in the following winter and was succeeded by Mr. Gimingham (of Caius' College, Cambridge), who retired in November, 1796. From May, 1797, to January, 1799 a Mr. Bradyn was assistant, and he was followed by the Rev. Robert Hogg, Presbyterian Minister, who held the office for more than 30 years till his death. "
{8} Trans. R. Irish Acad., vol. xi. pp. 25-44.
{9} Ibid, vol. x. pp. 109-117.
{10} On the Declinations of some of the Principal Fixed Stars. These are the only published results of observations with the Armagh Equatoreal.
{11} Dr. Robinson was born in Dublin on the 23rd April, 1792, studied at Trinity College and obtained Fellowship in 1814. He was for some years Deputy Professor of Natural Philosophy, and relinquished his Fellowship on obtaining the College living of Enniskillen.
{12} He wrote a paper in 1825
On Correcting Observations made with Equatoria Instruments, Trans. R. Irish Acad, vol. xv., and a paper
On Correcting Errors of the Astronomical Circle by Opposite Readings. (Ibid.)
{13} The Transit in the Armagh Observations for 1828 and 1829, the Circle in vol. ix. of the Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society; both of them in the introduction to the Armagh Catalogue of Stars.
{14} The late Earl of Rosse, in 1843, made and presented to the Observatory a duplicate mirror for this telescope.
{15} Mem. R. Astron. Soc., vol. iv., pp. 293-304; Trans. R. Irish Acad, vol. ix., pp. 110-146.
{16} Trans. R. Irish Acad., vol. xix., pp. 177-227.
{17} Astronomical Observations made at the Armagh Observatory. by T. R. Robinson, D.D., vol. i., Parts 1, 2, 3. London, 1829-32, 4to, 127 pp. An account of the state of the Observatory and the work done up to 1842 was printed in that year under the title:
Report made at the Annual Visitation 0f the Armagh Observatory (Armagh, 8vo., 12 pp.)
{18} Among these are a wonderfully well preserved reflector, by Short, of 6-in. aperture and 2 feet focal length, with Newtonian, Gregorian, and Cassegrain mirrors; a nine-inch mirror by W. Herschel (10 feet focal length), an old quadrant with transversal divisions, several old clocks (one of them a good M. T. clock), &c.
{19} In the course of years Lord John Beresford had spent nearly £2,500 on the Armagh Observatory. The Transit with Piers cost £300, the Circle with Pier, £850, the new telescope for it £250, the 15-inch Reflector, £220, the building of the Circle Room, the Tower and Dome, £633, and the Sector Tower and Mounting about £150.
{20} As a specimen of the work, Dr. Robinson published in 1879, in the
Transactions of the Royal Dublin Society, Places of one thousand Stars observed at the Armagh Observatory. The series is now being closed, and the definitive results in course of preparation for the press.
{21} See the extract from
Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, at the end of this Memoir.
{22} The Royal Society has granted a sum to defray the cost of printing this Second Armagh Catalogue.
{23} Copernicus, vol. iii., p. 18.
{24} [It is scarcely necessary to point out that Lord Stanhope forgot to allude to the Observatory of Trinity College, at Dunsink, and the private Observatory of the late Mr. Cooper at Markree Castle. In 1869 the former had, however, only just recommenced the vigorous activity which it had displayed early in the century, and the latter was closed from Mr. Cooper's death in 1863 till 1874. It may not be out of place to mention here, that Mr. Cooper imbibed his love of Astronomy by visiting the Armagh Observatory during his stay at the Royal School of Armagh]. -
Last Revised: 2009 November 16th
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THE Armagh Observatory was founded in the year 1791 by Richard Robinson, Baron Rokeby,
Archbishop of Armagh, the great benefactor of the city of Armagh. This generous Primate
had already, in 1778, founded and endowed a Public Library in Armagh, and during the last
years of his life he was anxious to assist in founding an University for Ulster - a
project which was, however, not carried out, owing to the restriction of five years
within which the University should be founded in order to enjoy the endowment of £5,000
left it by the Primate's will.