Kew Observatory
KEW OBSERVATORY, OLD DEER PARK
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- I
- List Entry Number:
- 1357729
- Date first listed:
- 10-Jan-1950
- List Entry Name:
- Kew Observatory
- Statutory Address:
- KEW OBSERVATORY, OLD DEER PARK
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Location
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Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2000-07-30
- Reference:
- IOE01/01495/09
- Rights:
- © Mr Paul F. Smith. Source: Historic England Archive
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- I
- List Entry Number:
- 1357729
- Date first listed:
- 10-Jan-1950
- List Entry Name:
- Kew Observatory
- Statutory Address 1:
- KEW OBSERVATORY, OLD DEER PARK
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:
- KEW OBSERVATORY, OLD DEER PARK
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Greater London Authority
- District:
- Richmond upon Thames (London Borough)
- Parish:
- Non Civil Parish
- National Grid Reference:
- TQ 17159 75781
Details
1. 5028 OLD DEER PARK
Kew Observatory TQ 1775 8/1 10.1.50
I
2. Designed by Sir William Chambers. Built 1768-9 when Dr Stephen Demainbray, a tutor to the royal family, persuaded George III to take an interest in a transit of Venus. Chambers conceived the design in terms of a small villa with canted bays on the north and south fronts creating a pair of conjoined octagonal rooms on one axis. Apart from the raising of the side roofs to the level of the observing chamber sometime after 1884 the building remains unaltered. Three storeys, including basement. Stuccoed. Five windows wide; staircase either side of first floor entrance. Basement rusticated. Cornices above first and second floors. Balustraded parapet. Square headed, moulded windows, some pedimented. Dome to roof, carrying observatory equipment. Interior not seen. (See - John Harris, Sir William Chambers. 1968. Zwemmer.)
Listing NGR: TQ1715975781
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 205571
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Harris, J, Sir William Chambers Knight of the Polar Star, (1970)
Other
Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England, Part 17 Greater London
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 26-Jun-2026 at 13:00:04.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.