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ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN AFRICA
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Feldhausen
Private
Observatory
1834 - 1838
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Current
Information:
The Observatory has closed down. The Current Information
section is not relevant to this Observatory.
Location:Wynberg; Cape Town |
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Noted
for:
Summary:
Feldhausen Observatory was Sir
John Herschel's
private property,which he utilized as an Astronomical Observatory
at Wynberg in Cape Town. Today Grove Primary School, with a Monument
erected on the school grounds, occupy the physical terrain.
(Errata: The book by Moore incorrectly locates the premises of Feldhausen
at Claremont. It is in Wynberg, Cape Town)
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History:
- "Having
completed and extended his father's catalogue of the northern heavens,
John Herschel arrived at the Cape, in January 1834 (ten days
after Maclear) with the set intention of making a similar
catalogue for the Southern Hemisphere. He bought an estate
at Feldhausen, six miles from Gape Town, erected his 20-ft.
focus reflector and a 7-ft. refractor and was ready for work before
June." [Copied from Moore, p. 51]
- "Herschel
described his house and estate at Feldhausen as occupying "one
of the most magnificent sites I ever saw". The site is breath-taking
even today; and a visit to the Herschel Obelisk - about which more
will be said later - is well worth while. The monument stands
on the exact spot where the 20-ft. reflector was set up, just to
the east of the Table Mountain massif. From this viewpoint
Devil's Peak looms majestically in the distance, a circumstance
which, for all its beauty, was to prove somewhat of a nuisance in
Herschel's cometary observations.
The homestead itself was demolished as recently as 1958, but
from contemporary pictures and descriptions, an excellent idea of
it may be conjured up. It was built in the Cape Dutch style with
a thatched roof, a central gable, and a wide stoep with seats
at either end. Entrance to the house was gained by a flight
of broad steps, flanked by enormous oaks. The walls, built
of cut river-stone and sun-baked brick, were two feet thick, providing
warmth in winter and coolness in summer. Heavy stink wood joists
supported the floors, and yellow wood doors with hand wrought
iron hinges added to the general charm. The floor of the spacious
entrance hall was of grey Batavian flagstones.
The outbuildings included servants' quarters, stables, a cowshed,
and a circular dairy. A cottage in the grounds was pressed into
service as Sir John's workshop, where he polished his mirrors, conducted
chemical experiments, and spent hours in his studies of the
coloration of flowers. Two hexagonal sentry-boxes were situated
at strategic points One of these exists today, the sole forlorn
survivor of all the gracious buildings which Sir John and
Lady Herschel knew. An impressive stone-pine avenue led eastward,
and a cross-avenue of oaks stretched to the edge of the vineyard.
The estate was of 99 morgen, a goodly size even in those days".
[Copied from Moore, pp. .52 - 55]
- "For
reasons which remain something of a mystery - after all, his home
was six thousand miles away - Herschel bought the estate in 1835
for the sum of £3 000. Laudable attempts have been made to estimate
how much this figure would represent in modern currency, but in
these days of rocketing land values the calculation depends on so
many imponderable values that it is almost impossible to make.
It is only necessary to add that a 10 Ib. fish could be bought
for 2d, while butcher's meat was Ir d per Ib.! Fortunately, Herschel's
parents had left him well off. When he returned to England, the
Government offered to reimburse him for the money he had spent
on his South Africa expedition. Herschel refused." [Copied
from Moore, p. 55.]
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John Herschel.
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Remaining
Artifacts:
- Herschel
Obelisk
- Feldhausen
Avenue, Wynberg.
Pictorial
Sources:
-
Africana Museum [Moore, pp. 52 - 53]
Bibliography:
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Moore, P. & Collins, P., Astronomy in Southern Africa,
p. 15, pp. 51 - 55, pp. 64 - 66 (General Source)
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