Observatory in Grounds of Howard's House is a Grade II listed building in the Bedford local planning authority area, England. First listed on 17 May 1984. Observatory.
Observatory in Grounds of Howard's House
- WRENN ID
- fallen-storey-crag
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Bedford
- Constituency
- North Bedfordshire MP: Richard Fuller (Con)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 17 May 1984
- Type
- Observatory
- Address
- Observatory in Grounds of Howard's House, Church Lane, Cardington
- OS grid reference
- TL 087 479
- Coordinates
- 52.11929, -0.41262
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The observatory located in the grounds of Howard's House is an early to mid-19th century structure, with the earliest reference dating back to 1846. It is built of red brick and features a painted metal roof. The observatory consists of a small octagonal block accompanied by a rectangular block to the north. It is a single-storey building raised above a basement.
The west elevation has a four-panel door that is accessed by wooden steps. The east elevation features a plank door topped by a small single-light casement for the octagonal block, and a low plank door with two small casements above it for the rectangular block. The octagonal block is topped with a conical roof that includes a sliding panel, while the rectangular block has a flat roof. The observatory is said to retain astronomical and meteorological instruments.
Local climate
Observatory in Grounds of Howard's House sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 690 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 96% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 89% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 34 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 51% of listed buildings. Of these, 15 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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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- No related consent applications matched
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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