Hauxley Observatory
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The Observatory was designed by our society members collectively. We had meetings to discuss our ideas and come up with a design that would 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 below. 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 planning permission which 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.
Getting Started
 The Grafters |
 The Plot |
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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 which is especially important to the astro-photographers amongst us. The solution we came up with was to secure the telescope onto a pier that would be cemented into the ground.
The floor of the building had a hole cut out where the pier went and in the pictures above you can see the metal frame to which the pier was attached being prepared to go in the hole. The bolts on the top attached the pier to the frame, the frame was put into the hole which was then filled with concrete. The lengths of wood were to ensure the frame stayed in place as the concrete went in.
The floor of the building had a hole cut out where the pier went and in the pictures above you can see the metal frame to which the pier was attached being prepared to go in the hole. The bolts on the top attached the pier to the frame, the frame was put into the hole which was then filled with concrete. The lengths of wood were to ensure the frame stayed in place as the concrete went in.
The Observatory
The observatory was then built by H. C White Ltd in their workshop and erected by them on site. The building was made exactly to our plans and we were very pleased with the quality of their work.
 The Plan |
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Members Malcolm and Norman spent a lot of time getting the building ready for the telescope which included making it more secure, boarding out the inside, painting and fire- proofing the wood.
We realised we could increase the amount of sky visible from inside the observatory by creating a south facing pull-down flap. Malcolm and Norman did this by cutting a section from the end of the building then attaching it back in place with hinges. The flap is bolted in place from the inside when the observatory is not in use. |
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 In the future we would like to build a warm room in the support section of the structure but this will depend on whether we can get the funding. If you would like to make a donation to our society to help towards the development and upkeep of our observatory, please contact us.
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The Telescope Mount and Pier
 The mount and pier on which the telescope sits were made by our dear late friend Jim
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  The metal tubular pier was bolted to the cement base with the bolts, as described earlier. In this picture you can see the section on floor cut away also. The pier was also filled with concrete. |
The Telescope
After having spent a long time taking up space in Austin's living room and then Adrian's mum's outhouse, finally the telescope was installed in the observatory.
The telescope is a Schmidt-Cassegrain 14" Meade LX200 with GoTo technology.
The telescope is a Schmidt-Cassegrain 14" Meade LX200 with GoTo technology.
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The 14 inch telescope after the original fork mount was replaced with an EQ8 in 2014.
The observatory had a fresh lick of paint over the weekend of Easter 2017 ready for the opening of the new Visitor Centre at Low Hauxley. Thanks to David, Mark, Cathy, Carol and Shaun for their time and efforts in sprucing the place up!
