Historical materials on the Herschels
Where did William Herschel live? (2)
Berkshire and Buckinghamshire
Will am Herschel's appointment as King's Astronomer required him to live near Windsor so, in the summer of 1782, he and Caroline moved to Datchet, near the River Thames and some two miles from the Castle. The house was described as 'A Gentleman's Hunting Lodge' but was very run down. However, it had good our-houses and a field for observing, so William was delighted. It was here that the large 20-foot telescope was first erected. However, after three winters of dampness and flooding, William became seriously ill, and it was essential to move on.
Clayhall Farm House, in Old Windsor, on the edge of Windsor Great Park
and only a mile from the Castle, could have provided the ideal site for
William to build 40-foot telescope he was already planning. However, he
had to deal with a landlady (who Caroline described as a 'litigious woman')
who threatened to increase the rent whenever he made improvements to the
premises so, in April 1786, after only nine months, they moved again, and
for the last time, to Slough (Clayhall Farm was sold to the Crown Commissioners
in 1842 and was only knocked down in 1979 - the Commissioners probably being
unaware of its historical significance.)
The 20ft telescope beside his house in Slough (left) / The 40ft telescope (right)
Observatory House, as it became known, was formerly called the Grove, on account of the many splendid elm trees that surrounded it - many of which Herschel had felled in order to clear his horizon. The house belonged to a well-to-do family named Baldwin whose daughter, Mary, married William in 1788. It was later renamed Ivy House. After William's marriage, Caroline moved into a cottage in the garden, from the roof of which she used to sweep the skies for comets and which then became known as Observatory Cottage. The name Observatory House came later, during 19th century. It was here that William built his giant 40-foot telescope, which stood over 50-foot high and remained a prominent landmark on the Ordnance Survey maps for 50 years.
The Observatory House before demolition
William died in 1822, but the house was occupied by members of the Herschel
family until 1960, when it was demolished.
It is fitting, however, that just as Herschel's telescope was a leader in the technology of his day, so the site is now occupied by the head-quarters of ICL, the leading computer company in the UK, and the building is still known as Observatory House.
Quoted from Newsletter No 87 issued by the Herschel Society of Japan