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Flamsteed House is the home of the Old Royal Greenwich Observatory (RGO), Founded in 1675 by King Charles II and designed by Sir Christopher Wren. Named after John Flamsteed who was appointed by King Charles II as the first ever royal astronomer in March 1675. The idea behind the building of the Observatory was to aid naval navigation by finding ways to measure time accurately at sea. This requires accurate timing at sea and since 1833 a red ‘time ball’ has been dropped from the roof of the Observatory at exactly 13.00 (1 pm) to allow ships at sea to accurately set their clocks. In modern times this has been kept up simply for the benefit of tourists. Since 1884 the building has marked the internationally recognised Prime Meridian Line, Longitude 0° 0' 0'' and starting point of time, G.M.T. (Greenwich meantime). The line is actually defined by the observatories 'Transit Circle' telescope, built in 1850, and the cross hairs of the telescope define Longitude 0º for the entire globe. This means uniquely visitors can claim to have stood in both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres at the same time by standing with a leg either side of the marked Prime Meridian Line. The Royal Observatory is the internationally recognised starting point for measuring time, the day, the year and the millennium are all relative to GMT. The Observatory is dedicated to exhibits and galleries that explore and explain the subjects of time, space and astronomy as well as the history of the Observatory itself. Today its run by the nearby National maritime Museum. Recent work is transforming the Royal Observatory with projects such ‘Time and Space.’ This £15million project sees new galleries on modern astronomy, time, a Lloyds Register Education Centre and a brand new state-of-the-art Planetarium. Also notably the observatory is home to the only public Obscura Camera (dark chamber) in London and to the UKs' largest refracting telescope. The Observatory in 1784 was the place where James Bradley discovered the notation of the earth (the slight oscillation of its axis). Today the site sees 800,000 visitors each year and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997. Opening Hours: 10.00 to 17.00, seven days a week. Last admission is 30 minutes before closing. March till September open till 18.00. website: rog.nmm.ac.uk
this attraction free admission |
Cutty Sark 0.5 miles (0.7 km) 
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