Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
21
Sobel in her book
Longitude
). Downstairs, in
Time and Greenwich
, you can learn about
the story of GMT, UTC and even GPS, view the electrical contacts that used to provide
the hourly six pips for the BBC and listen to three generations of the speaking clock.
Meridian Building
Flamsteed carried out more than thirty thousand observations - “nothing can exceed
the tediousness and ennui of the life” was his dispirited description of the job - in the
Quadrant House, which now forms part of the
Meridian Building
. Edmond Halley,
who succeeded Flamsteed as Astronomer Royal, bought more sophisticated quadrants,
sextants, spyglasses and telescopes, which are among those displayed in the
Quadrant
Room
. With the aid of his 8ft iron quadrant, he applied historical astronomy methods
to predict the next appearance of the eponymous comet - though he never lived to see
it. Next door, you'll find
Bradley's Meridian
, used for Ordnance Survey maps since
1801. Finally, you reach a room that's sliced in two by the present-day Greenwich
Meridian, fixed by the cross hairs in “Airy's Transit Circle”, the astronomical instrument
that dominates the room.
Astronomy Centre and Planetarium
Housed in the fanciful, domed terracotta South Building, built in the 1890s, the
Astronomy
Centre
houses hi-tech galleries giving a brief rundown of the Big Bang theory
of the universe. You can conduct some hands-on experiments to explore concepts such
as gravity and spectroscopy, and you're then invited to consider the big questions of
astronomy today. You can also choose to watch one of the thirty-minute presentations in
the state-of-the-art
Planetarium
, introduced by a Royal Observatory astronomer.
Ranger's House
Guided tour only April-Sept Mon-Wed & Sun 11am & 2pm (1hr 30min) • EH • £6.70 •
T
020 8294 2548 • Greenwich DLR or Blackheath
train station
In the southern corner of Greenwich Park stands the
Ranger's House
, a red-brick
Georgian villa looking out over Blackheath. Built as a private residence, it became the
o
cial residence of the park ranger (hence its name), a sort of top-notch grace-and-
favour home. The house currently displays the private collection of
Julius Wernher
(1850-1912), an Edwardian German-born millionaire who made his money by
exploiting the diamond deposits of South Africa, and at his death was one of the
world's richest men. His taste in art is eclectic, ranging from medieval ivory miniatures
to Iznik pottery, though he was definitely a man who placed technical virtuosity above
artistic merit, and who, despite his Lutheran upbringing, amassed a vast array of
Catholic bric-a-brac. Highlights on the top floor include Memlinc's
Virgin and Child
,
the jewellery cabinet and the pair of sixteenth-century majolica dishes decorated with
mythological scenes for Isabella d'Este, wife of the Marchese of Mantua and a great
patron of the arts.
Downstairs, there's a sparkling Reynolds portrait of Lady Caroline Price, a top-notch
de Hooch interior, and, in the splendid main gallery with its three bow windows and
duck-egg-green coffered ceiling, a whole series of seventeenth-century French tapestries
depicting life in the court of the Emperor of China. Finally, at the far end of the main
gallery is Bergonzoli's striking
Love of Angels
, a highly charged sculpture that, despite
weighing two tons, succeeds in appearing light and ethereal.
Fan Museum
12 Crooms Hill • Tues-Sat 11am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm • £4 •
T
020 8305 1441,
W
thefanmuseum.org.uk • Greenwich DLR
At the bottom of Crooms Hill, you'll find the
Fan Museum.
It's a fascinating little place
(and an extremely beautiful house), revealing the importance of the fan as a social and
political document. The permanent exhibition on the ground floor traces the history of
the fan and the materials employed, from peacock feathers to straw, while temporary
