Close house Observatories - Newcastle Upon Tyne

History

“Nestled near Newcastle upon Tyne sits 3 former observatories. The main observatory bears the name of Reverend T.E. Espin, a distinguished amateur astronomer from the late 19th and early 20th centuries renowned for his work on double and variable stars. In 1960, King's College, Newcastle (later Newcastle University), acquired Close House and its grounds, subsequently constructing the observatory in the 1960s. This facility housed several telescopes, most notably a 24-inch reflecting telescope originally built by Calver around 1914, which had been used by Espin himself, and a 4.5-inch Cooke refracting telescope. The observatory served as a valuable resource for undergraduate and postgraduate studies in astronomy and astrophysics. Interestingly, in the early 1970s, Close House also played a role in lunar research, hosting studies on soil samples brought back from the Apollo missions. Despite its contributions, the telescopes at Close House were in regular use only until the early 2000s. With the closure of Newcastle University's physics department in the mid-2000s, the observatory was abandoned, falling into a state of disrepair. Today, the observatory buildings and domes remain standing, although their condition is deteriorating. The site is now part of the Close House estate, owned by local businessman Graham Wylie, which includes a hotel and golf course”.