The Observatory was designed by our society members collectively. We had meetings to discuss our ideas and come up with designs for to meet our observing needs as well as fitting in with the Nature Reserve surroundings. We spent many weeks discussing, planning  and researching the possibilities and we finally decided to go with a wooden construction with a roll-off roof.  The final design can be seen on the right.

The location of the observatory was negotiated with the Wildlife Trust and we were given a plot of land near the car park where we usually have our observing sessions.

We then submitted our proposal to Alnwick Council for to gain planning permission.  This was granted and we began work on laying the foundations for the observatory. The Observatory plans were given to the local shed building company H. C White Ltd and they did a wonderful job on constructing it to our design in their Pegswood workshop.

Click here to see our full set of plans

The Grafters

From left to right, Jim, Adrian, Tim, Wilf and Austin

The observatory was then built by H. C White Ltd  in their workshop which they then erected on site. The building was made exactly to our plans and we were very impressed with the quality of their work.

Members Malcolm and Norman spent a lot of time getting the building ready for the telescope. Including making it more secure, boarding out the inside, painting and fire- proofing the wood.

Digging the hole for the pier

When we were laying the foundations one of the most important things we had to consider was how to prevent vibrations from the wooden floor affecting the telescope. This was especially important to the astro-photographers amongst us. 

The solution we came up with was to secure the telescope onto a pier which would be cemented into the ground. The floor of the building had a hole cut out where the pier went. This is explained in more detail below.

Jim checking for treasure

Smoothing off the edges

The rest of the cement filled the base, you can see the bolts sticking out from the frame which attach to the pier.

Malcolm

Deciding whose turn it is to make a cuppa

In the picture above you can see the roof rolled off the observatory

Austin wondering if the runners need more grease

In the future we would like to build a warm room in the support section of the structure. This will depend on if we can get the funding to do so. At the moment we are currently working on getting electricity to the observatory. If you would like to make a donation to our society to help towards our observatory then please click here.