Godalming observatory

Near the town of Godalming in Surrey, England, no single facility called "Godalming Observatory" is documented, though the surrounding area has a genuine history of small private and school observatories.

About the Godalming area's observatories

Historical records point to at least two separate sites near Godalming rather than one central observatory. Charterhouse School, on Charterhouse Road, built an observatory around 1907 as part of its Old Science Block; it originally held a 4-inch refracting telescope and today uses a Schmidt-Cassegrain instrument on a modern mount for the school's astronomy society. Separately, Adams's Hambledon Observatory operated from around 1904 to about 1916 at Mervel House in nearby Hambledon, housing a photographic instrument in a wooden run-off shed alongside a 6-inch equatorial refractor in a domed building.

Location & getting there

The area sits in Surrey, in the Europe region of England, within easy reach of London by rail. Godalming itself is a market town on the River Wey.

Visiting

Neither of the historic sites associated with the Godalming area is generally open to the public; the Charterhouse School observatory is used by the school's own astronomy society. Check locally for any current public astronomy events in the Godalming and Hambledon area.

See your named star from here

Whichever historic dome you have in mind near Godalming, a named star's coordinates work anywhere under Surrey's skies. If you've named a star with Star Register, its certificate gives the exact position for any telescope to find it. Browse the star catalogue to find yours.