Description

DURHAM AND FRAMWELLGATE POTTERS BANK
NZ 24 SE (North side, off)

4/372 Observatory

GV II

Observatory. 1839-40 by Anthony Salvin for the University. Coursed squared
sandstone with ashlar plinth, quoins and dressings; roof not visible; copper-
clad dome. Greek cross plan with full-width one-storey north and south extensions.
2-storey, 3-bay central range and one-storey 3-bay front and rear ranges.
Projecting central bay has 6-panelled door and overlight flanked by long, narrow
sashes; sashes either side under eaves band and coped parapet with corner
pilasters.

Upper floor has 4 pediments flanking central dome; central bay projects under
wood pediment and contains a sash window; side bays have glazed doors opening
onto roof of ground-floor extension. All sashes have glazing bars under flat
stone lintels and projecting stone sills. Prominent gutter cornice continuous
with pediments.

Interior shows beaded tongue-and-groove boarded lining to upper floor; stair
with turned newels, square rods and round handrail ramped at one point. Dome
has boarded lining and rests on rack-and-pinion gear.

Listing NGR: NZ2672941560

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Durham University Observatory at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q5316584

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects, Supplement 2014
• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Sheffield and the South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]