The Observatory 100 Metres South-East of Pond is a Grade II listed building in the Ribble Valley local planning authority area, England. First listed on 13 February 1967. Observatory.
The Observatory 100 Metres South-East of Pond
- WRENN ID
- quiet-spindle-umber
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Ribble Valley
- Constituency
- Ribble Valley MP: Maya Ellis (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 13 February 1967
- Type
- Observatory
- OS grid reference
- SD 691 388
- Coordinates
- 53.84517, -2.47025
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Observatory, located 100 metres south-east of the pond, was built in 1838 by Mr. Tuach of Preston and features an underground magnetic chamber added in 1866. Constructed from sandstone ashlar, it has a timber and glass lantern with a felted roof. The building is octagonal in shape and includes four projecting pedimented wings, which have prominent punched quoins and a central circular lantern. Each wall consists of one bay, and the windows are adorned with architraves that feature false keystones, some of which are cut through to accommodate telescope projections. The entrance door is situated in the gable of the north wing and is accessed by five external stone steps. This door also has an architrave with a false keystone and a bracketed cornice. The underground room extends to the south-east, ending with a retaining wall that includes a parapet, two architraves for blank openings, and concave flanking walls.
Local climate
The Observatory 100 Metres South-East of Pond sits in one of the wettest parts of the UK, with an average of 1,280 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 94% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 90% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 46 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 87% of listed buildings. Of these, 24 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
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- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
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- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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