The Macclean Dome at the Norman Lockyer Observatory is a Grade II listed building in the East Devon local planning authority area, England. First listed on 6 July 1984. Observatory.

The Macclean Dome at the Norman Lockyer Observatory

WRENN ID
fading-cellar-vale
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
East Devon
Constituency
Honiton and Sidmouth MP: Richard Foord (LD)
Country
England
Date first listed
6 July 1984
Type
Observatory
Address
The Macclean Dome at the Norman Lockyer Observatory, Salcombe Hill, Sidmouth
OS grid reference
SY 139 883
Coordinates
50.68824, -3.21992
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: sale history · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The McClean dome at the Norman Lockyer Observatory is an observatory dome built around 1912. It has a diameter of 6 meters and is constructed from concrete blocks with an aluminum dome. The structure features two light casement windows and an entrance extension with a boarded door. It was specifically designed to house twin equatorial 300mm refractors made by Crubb for Sir Norman Lockyer, intended for research on the spectra of bright-line stars.

Local climate

The Macclean Dome at the Norman Lockyer Observatory receives an average of 780 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 61% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 73% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 19 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 80% of listed buildings. Of these, 6 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.

More on this building

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  • No EPC on record for this property
  • Sale history — 2 transactions since 2008
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  • 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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