Observatory
OBSERVATORY, MUSEUM GARDENS
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1257124
- Date first listed:
- 02-Nov-1972
- List Entry Name:
- Observatory
- Statutory Address:
- OBSERVATORY, MUSEUM GARDENS
Location
Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.
Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.
What is the National Heritage List for England?
The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.
The list includes:
 |
Buildings |
 |
Scheduled monuments |
 |
Parks and gardens |
 |
Battlefields |
 |
Shipwrecks |
Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2001-06-02
- Reference:
- IOE01/03731/07
- Rights:
- © Mr Chris Broadribb. Source: Historic England Archive
Local Heritage Hub
Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.
Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1257124
- Date first listed:
- 02-Nov-1972
- List Entry Name:
- Observatory
- Statutory Address 1:
- OBSERVATORY, MUSEUM GARDENS
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- OBSERVATORY, MUSEUM GARDENS
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- York (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Non Civil Parish
- National Grid Reference:
- SE 59935 52066
Details
YORK
SE5952SE MUSEUM GARDENS 1112-1/12/776 Observatory 02/11/72
GV II
Observatory. 1832-33, restored 1981. Telescope designed and built by Thomas Cooke of York, rotating conical roof designed by John Smeaton, for the Yorkshire Philosophical Society. Magnesian limestone ashlar with lead roof. PLAN: octagonal on shallow plinth. EXTERIOR: basement and 2 storeys, lower storey with moulded cornice, upper storey set back. Door is of 4 flush panels. Each alternate face on ground floor has 12-pane sash window with slender glazing bars. Upper storey has 2-light casement windows. Openings are chamfered. INTERIOR: not inspected. HISTORICAL NOTE: the observatory was built following the inaugural meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1831, restored and refitted in 1981 to mark the Association's 150th anniversary. For many years, the telescope it housed was the largest refracting telescope in the world. (An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the City of York: RCHME: Outside the City Walls East of the Ouse: HMSO London: 1975-: 45).
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 464207
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
An Inventory of the City of York IV East, (1975), 45
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 04-Jun-2026 at 05:47:57.
Download a full scale map (PDF)© Crown copyright [and database rights] 2026. OS AC0000815036. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100024900.© British Crown and SeaZone Solutions Limited 2026. All rights reserved. Licence number 102006.006.
End of official list entry