Observatory, Pitfour House Estate is a Grade B listed building in the Aberdeenshire local planning authority area, Scotland. First listed on 15 February 1982. Observatory.

Observatory, Pitfour House Estate

WRENN ID
long-crypt-rook
Grade
B
Local Planning Authority
Aberdeenshire
Constituency
Aberdeenshire North and Moray East MP: Seamus Logan (SNP)
Country
Scotland
Date first listed
15 February 1982
Type
Observatory
OS grid reference
NJ 973 498
Coordinates
57.53897, -2.04594
Source
Historic Environment Scotland listing

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

Description

The observatory on the Pitfour House Estate was likely designed by John Smith around 1845. It is an octagonal structure made of harled brick, featuring a granite belt course, cornice, and a crenellated parapet. The building has three stages, with tall, shallow, semi-circular arched recesses in the middle stage and square windows at the top. There is a brick well with a wooden spiral staircase, which has now collapsed. The observatory is currently in a ruinous condition.

Local climate

Observatory, Pitfour House Estate receives an average of 820 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 52% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 53% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 13 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 87% of listed buildings. Of these, 10 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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  • 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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Nearby listed buildings

  1. Laundry, Pitfour House Estate Grade C 733 m
  2. Game Larder, Pitfour House Estate Grade C 776 m
  3. The Kennels Cottage, Pitfour House Estate Grade B 843 m
  4. The Stables, Pitfour House Estate Grade B 908 m
  5. North West Bridge, Pitfour House Estate Grade C 937 m
  6. Boathouse, Pitfour House Estate Grade C 1.0 km
  7. Chapel, Pitfour House Estate Grade C 1.1 km
  8. Temple Of Theseus, Pitfour House Estate Grade B 1.2 km
  9. North East Bridge, Pitfour House Estate Grade B 1.2 km
  10. South East Bridge, Pitfour House Estate Grade C 1.4 km