This page is intended to support a lecture given by Graham Dolan
John Flamsteed. Line engraving by G. Vertue, 1721, after T. Gibson, 1712. Image courtesy of the Wellcome Collection (see below)
Flamsteed's Historia Coelestis - links to online copies and a guide to the different sections
Flamsteed’s Historia Coelestis and the etchings of Francis Place – a comparative study
Text of the Warrant setting up the Board of Visitors (1710)
The supressed preface to Flamsteed's Historia
Solar eclipses observed at Greenwich during the time of Flamsteed (1675–1719)
High resolution copy from the Linda Hall library (1729)
High resolution copy from the Linda Hall library (1753)
High resolution copy from the University of Zurich library (1753)*
* This copy lacks the frontispiece (portrait of Flamsteed) but has better scans of the star charts
The Royal Observatory and the Giant Steps (the Grand Ascent)
The Burial Place of John Flamsteed, the first Astronomer Royal
7-foot Equatorial Sextant (1676)
Hooke's 10-foot Mural Quadrant (1676)
Planning application relating to the Giant Steps:
Application relating to the Royal Observatory
The text of the letter from the Royal Astronomical Society objecting to the demolition of Flamsteed's Sextant and Quadrant House can be found in the Officer's Delegated Report.
The planning documents refer to Flamsteed's Quadrant and Sextant Houses as the "ticket office".
The Sextant and Quadrant Houses are of great heritage significance as:
As part of a Grade 1 listed building and scheduled ancient monument the Sextant and Quadrant house has the highest degree of protection that can be given. None the less, the Royal borough of Greenwich with the support of Historic England have agreed to their demolition.
The listing (Grade 1) for the Meridian Building states:
'C17 and C18 two storey brick building with C19 and modern alterations. This contains the transit telescopes of three Astronomers Royal, with a collection of other relevant material; and the finally decided Prime Meridian runs through the eastern part. A series of rooms on the south side fitted and furnished as if to be used by the first Astronomer Royal in late C17.'
From the University of Cambridge
From the Macclesfield Collection, CUL (MS Add.9597/13/6/72a-87)
From Newton's Papers, CUL (MS Add.4006)
From the Royal Society
An analysis of the errors in John Flamsteed’s mural arc observations. William Blitstein, Vistas in Astronomy Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 139-155 (1997)
The seven identified observations of Uranus made by John Flamsteed using his mural arc. William Blitzstein, The Observatory, vol. 118, p9. 219-222 (1998)
Flamsteed's lunar data, 1692-95, sent to Newton. N Kollerstrom, & B.D. Yallop. Journal for the History of Astronomy, p.237-246 (1995)
© 2014 – 2025 Graham Dolan
Except where indicated, all text and images are the copyright of Graham Dolan