A postcard has been added to the Four Marks page, in the local villages A-K section of the website.
The Observatory once stood in the grounds of a property on Blackberry Lane, it was built by the Astronomer James Worthington (1884-1980), with the official opening taking place on the 8th November 1913. Approximately thirty members of the London Astronomical Society were present including the society President Prof Alexander Bickerton.
An article written after the official opening in November 1913 described the Observatory:
‘There are two chambers with revolving domes: here are housed six wonderful telescopes, the largest being a 20-inch reflector and a 10- inch refractor. The observatory stands 600 feet above the sea level, and is more than 20 miles from any manufacturing town, so that the atmosphere is not affected by any artificial lighting.’
The largest telescopes mentioned in the article above were housed in domes that were 24 & 22 feet in diameter. In terms of the equipment and facilities it was considered ‘the finest private observatory in England’
However, despite the process of finding the perfect site and the enormous expense of the equipment within, it is claimed that Worthington did not have time to fully appreciate it. In late 1914 he wrote an open invite to other astronomers offering them the use of his site for up to 3 months at a time, adding that he could offer them a bed. He suggested that groups of 2 or 3 were better due to the ‘arduous handling’ of the equipment, in which case his cook would provide all their meals for them as well.
The observatory appears to have had a short life, with most use being recorded between 1913-1918. By 1918 Worthington had purchased property in California, where he met and then married a lady called Ethel, he then permanently relocated to the USA in the early 1920’s, where he died in 1980.
The Observatory was still in use during 1919, however by October that year it and the contents of the residence were listed for sale, initially being offered to the British Astronomical Association for £3500, a sum that when also taking into account the annual running fees was out of their reach. It appears that the Observatory was sold by way of auction the following year, with the sale price reported as being £1560.
The 1921 Census records the head of the household as Frederick Perkins (1871-1952) I have been unable to confirm if Frederick bought the property or was a tenant of the new owner(s).
The property was listed for sale once again in 1932, described as a ‘charming house with 4 bedrooms and inside sanitation’. But no mention of the Observatory Domes in the garden*
I believe the Observatory (as in the telescopes, scientific instruments etc) had all been removed by 1925, with the property becoming a family home, small holding, or poultry farm *The 1932 advert mentions 250 head of poultry and 7 poultry houses, perhaps by that point the domes had been demolished or converted into Poultry houses?
The author of the book Four Marks its Life and Origins was told that the domes were demolished at the start of World War II as they were considered too much of a landmark for the enemy.
The only item of equipment I was able to trace after leaving Four Marks was the 10- inch refractor (made in 1871 by Thomas Cooke), it was acquired by a man called William Goodacre, he installed at his observatory in Finchley. It was there until the early 1950s when it was sold and installed at the Mills Observatory in Dundee.
As far as I can tell it is still there to this day, their website contains this description:
‘The main telescope used to be a 250mm (10 inch) refractor built by Thomas Cooke of York in 1871. Due to its age and size this telescope will only be used on special occasions.’